New York, Jan 6, 2026, 20:54 (ET) — Market closed
- Merck shares closed up 1.3% on Tuesday at $108.87.
- U.S. health officials moved several childhood shots to case-by-case decisions and backed a one-dose HPV schedule.
- Investors next watch Merck’s Jan. 12 JPMorgan Healthcare Conference appearance and its Feb. 3 earnings call.
Merck & Co. shares rose 1.3% to $108.87 on Tuesday, after U.S. health officials overhauled the childhood immunization schedule and shifted several vaccines away from broad, routine recommendations.
The Health and Human Services Department said the revised schedule keeps a core set of vaccines as routine for all children and moves others to high-risk categories or “shared clinical decision-making” — meaning doctors and families weigh the shot based on a child’s risk. HHS also said studies support one dose of the HPV vaccine instead of two and that vaccines on the prior schedule remain covered by insurance and federal programs.
For Merck, attention centers on Gardasil, its HPV vaccine, which generated $2.4 billion in U.S. sales in 2024, Reuters reported. Merck has said there is not sufficient data for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to license a single-dose regimen, while former FDA chief scientist Jesse Goodman said of vaccines moved off universal recommendation: “If you can safely prevent it, it makes total sense.” Reuters
Merck traded between $106.82 and $110.16 on Tuesday as healthcare stocks broadly rose with the wider market. Investors are also looking ahead to U.S. job openings data due on Wednesday and Friday’s payrolls report, which can sway rate expectations and defensive sectors such as pharmaceuticals.
Merck is due to appear at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference next week, with Chief Executive Robert M. Davis and Merck Research Laboratories president Dean Y. Li scheduled for a fireside chat on Jan. 12 at 4:30 p.m. PT (7:30 p.m. ET), the company said.
The company is also scheduled to hold its fourth-quarter earnings call on Feb. 3 at 9 a.m. ET. Traders will watch for 2026 guidance, commentary on Gardasil demand assumptions, and updates on the pipeline as Merck works to broaden growth beyond Keytruda, its top cancer drug.
Merck plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.85 a share on Jan. 8. At Tuesday’s close, that implies an annual yield of about 3.1%.
But the vaccine policy shift leaves open how quickly providers and patients adjust HPV dosing in practice, and whether FDA labeling becomes a binding constraint. Any broader slide in vaccine uptake, or further policy changes, could add uncertainty to Merck’s vaccine outlook even as oncology remains the company’s main earnings engine.
The next test for the stock is Merck’s Jan. 12 conference appearance, followed by its Feb. 3 results and guidance.
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