NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026, 15:08 ET — Market closed
Merck & Co. (MRK) shares ended Friday up about 1.2% at $106.45. Nasdaq said the cash tender offer for Cidara Therapeutics is scheduled to expire one minute after 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 6, with the merger tentatively slated to close before the market opens Jan. 7. The exchange said Cidara shares would be halted after the after-hours session on Jan. 6 and suspended Jan. 8 if the deal closes as planned. NASDAQ Trader
That timetable matters now because it gives Merck investors a near-term corporate catalyst at the start of the year, when fresh filings and announcements are often thin and positioning tends to reset after the holidays.
Merck agreed to buy Cidara for $221.50 per share in cash, valuing the transaction at about $9.2 billion, to add CD388, a Phase 3 long-acting antiviral candidate aimed at preventing influenza in higher-risk patients. “We continue to execute our science-led business development strategy, augmenting our pipeline with CD388,” Merck Chairman and CEO Robert M. Davis said.
A tender offer is when an acquirer asks shareholders to sell their stock for a set price; it typically needs a minimum number of shares tendered before a merger can close. After-hours trading is the period after the regular session ends, and a trading halt is a temporary pause used to manage corporate-action mechanics.
Friday’s move snapped a three-session losing streak and left Merck about 1% below its 52-week high of $107.59, according to MarketWatch. About 10 million shares changed hands, well below the stock’s 50-day average volume of 13.8 million; Pfizer rose 1.12%, Johnson & Johnson gained 0.19% and Eli Lilly added 0.53% in the same session, MarketWatch data showed.
The broader market started 2026 unevenly: the Dow and S&P 500 ended higher on Friday while the Nasdaq was little changed, with chipmakers leading a rebound after a recent pullback, Reuters reported. Strategists said investors kept buying dips but were paying closer attention to valuations as they headed into next week’s U.S. labor-market data. Reuters
For Merck holders, the near-term focus is whether the Cidara tender offer closes on schedule, or is extended, and how quickly the deal moves from paperwork to integration. Any shift in the timeline can sway sentiment around Merck’s push into respiratory medicines.
Before the next session, traders will be watching whether MRK holds its recent run toward a 52-week high when U.S. markets reopen on Monday, Jan. 5. The calendar then turns quickly to the Jan. 6 tender deadline and the expected Jan. 7 close.
Merck’s next scheduled earnings event is its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call on Feb. 3. Investors will look for the company’s 2026 outlook, updates on key franchises and any commentary on the pace of dealmaking and integration.
Income investors also have the company’s next quarterly dividend on the calendar: 85 cents a share, payable Jan. 8. With the Cidara transaction set to close around the same week, cash deployment and balance-sheet messaging will stay in focus.
Technically, the stock has a clear reference point at its recent 52-week high, while the late-December pullbacks have set nearby support levels. A decisive break either way can shape positioning into the February earnings print.
With the U.S. market closed for the weekend, Merck heads into Monday with a defined corporate-action timeline and a broader tape that remains sensitive to rates and growth data. That combination can keep MRK’s trading driven as much by the calendar as by the day-to-day headlines.
