Merck CEO Davis sells 47.4K shares for $5.6M amid 12.3% monthly rally; post-sale holdings 443.6K
Robert M Davis, Chairman, CEO & President of Merck & Co., Inc., executed two separate open-market sales on 2026-02-04, selling 14,972 shares at $117.38 and 32,462 shares at $118.35 for a combined $5,599,327.27 at a blended average price of $118.04. This reduces his post-transaction holdings to 443.6K shares, representing a -9.7% reduction from his pre-transaction position of 491.0K shares. The sales occurred during a period of significant price appreciation: the stock is currently at $121.93, up 12.3% over the prior 30 days and 41.3% over 90 days, now at the top of its 52-week range. Historically at Merck, Davis's prior four sales (2023–2024) showed a 1-in-4 rate of well-timed exits at the 90-day mark, with mixed returns: three sales were followed by positive 90-day returns (+2.3% to +2.8%), suggesting the stock generally moved higher after his prior sales at this ticker. The company maintains solid fundamentals with $17.3B quarterly revenue, $5.8B net income, and a P/E of 15.90.