ASND vs. MRK: Ascendis Pharma vs. Merck Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and Merck (MRK) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but ASND is classified in Biotechnology while MRK is classified in Pharmaceuticals.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Merck (MRK) is heavily traded at around 10.24M shares per day, whereas Ascendis Pharma (ASND) sees a more moderate 698.39K — larger orders in the latter may require more patience and tighter control over order sizing.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 118.78% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Merck (MRK) at 5.06%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 70.85% converts revenue to bottom-line profit above its industry’s benchmark range, while Merck (MRK) at 3.64% keeps roughly the typical share for its industry.

Both Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 64.98% and Merck (MRK) at 35.22% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 98.03% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Merck (MRK) at 1.31% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ASND.

Only one side can be read here: Merck (MRK) reports EPS growth of 8.01%, ranked against its industry; Ascendis Pharma (ASND) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 2.99 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Merck (MRK) at 1.35 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for MRK.

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 0.31 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Merck (MRK) at 1.20 uses more debt funding than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Merck (MRK) reports a yield of 2.29%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Merck (MRK) reports payout ratio above 100% at 343.43%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings; Ascendis Pharma (ASND) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%).

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 19.68 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Merck (MRK) at 148.21 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for MRK’s trailing earnings.

On P/S ratio, both Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 16.14 and Merck (MRK) at 5.37 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Both Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 10.45 and Merck (MRK) at 8.06 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics