Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) will be reporting its first-quarter earnings on Thursday before the market opens. Wall Street expects earnings per share of $2.14 and revenue of $15.33 billion.

The stock is down a painful 38.04% over the past year and has dropped 20.73% year-to-date. Even in the past month, it’s off by 14.85%, making it one of the more bruised names among Big Pharma peers.

Let's look at what the charts indicate for Merck stock and how it currently maps against Wall Street estimates.

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Merck Stock Is In A Bearish Mess Ahead Of Q1 Earnings

Chart created using Benzinga Pro

Technically, Merck stock is in a bearish mess — but not without glimmers of optimism. Merck stock is trading well below its five-, 20- and 50-day exponential moving averages, a sign the stock is in a strongly bearish trend. However, there's an undercurrent of buying pressure that could set up a bullish reversal if earnings offer any upside surprise.

At $78.56, Merck’s stock is just above its eight-day simple moving average (SMA) of $78.32 — a short-term bullish signal. But zoom out and it gets grim: the 20-day SMA sits at $82.12 and the 50-day SMA at $87.48, both pointing to technical bearish signals.

The 200-day SMA? A daunting $102.90.

Momentum indicators also flash red: the MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) is at a negative at 3.36, and the RSI (relative strength index) is at 36.36, hovering near oversold territory.

In short, bears still run the show — unless bulls latch onto a strong first quarter earnings.

Merck Analysts See 29% Upside

Ratings & Consensus Estimates: Despite the technical gloom, the Street isn't giving up just yet. Merck holds a Buy consensus rating with a mean price target of $121. More recently, Cantor Fitzgerald, Guggenheim and Deutsche Bank issued fresh ratings, averaging a $101.67 target, implying a potential upside of 29.41% from current levels.

MRK Stock Price Action: Merck stock was trading at $78.68, down 0.37% at the time of publication Wednesday.

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