JP Morgan Goes “Back In Time” — On “New” Merck Price Target

So JP Morgan has moved Merck’s 12 month stock price target up to. . . where JP Morgan had it in January of 2010 (per a PDF transcript of the 2010 JP Morgan Healthcare conference) — from $42 to $44. Yawn. This isn’t really any news at all, but it is courtesy of Benzinga:

. . . .We are increasing our MRK sales and EPS estimates following strong 1Q/11 results. Our new estimates are toward the high end of the company’s 2011 guidance range. We are raising our PT by $2 to $44.

J.P. Morgan maintains Overweight on Merck. . . .

Uh-huh, Sure it does — it also has more than ample reason to curry favor, as I’ve repeatedly pointed out in the past.

Tuesday January 11, 2011: Merck CEO To Webcast — At JP Morgan Conference

At 10:30 AM EST on Tuesday, Merck will present at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco:

. . . .Merck & Co., Inc.

This presentation will be webcast live on January 11th, 2011, at 7:30 AM Pacific Standard Time. . . .

A link to the webcast will appear here at presentation time. Schedule subject to change. Please return to this page at the scheduled time. The page will refresh to allow you to connect to the webcast. . . .

As ever, we’ll cover anything truly newsworthy.

Merck To Take The “Friendly” Credit Suisse Mic Tomorrow Morning, At 9:30 Eastern

UPDATED 10.11.2010 @ 9:00 a.m. EST: There were only two questions from non-Credit Suisse representatives — and only four, in total. No real news whatsoever. Y A W N.

So — I’ll live-blog any real news, here:

. . . .Credit Suisse 2010 Healthcare Conference
November 10 to 12, 2010

Arizona Biltmore Hotel | Phoenix, AZ

Merck & Co., Inc. Presentation | Thursday, November 11, 2010 7:30 AM MST. . . .

I would expect mostly softball questions, as regular readers will recall that Credit Suisse was a one of the lead underwriters on the June 2009 debt offering tranches (about $4.25 billion worth, prior to paying underwriting fees and discounts). The firm’s old CSFB capital markets affilate was one of two book-runners (i.e., made “lions’ share” fees — for selling bonds that require virtually no effort to place — most institutions need to hold “A-rated” paper, and that is what Merck’s is) on those deals.

So — as I say — it is likely to feature almost no pointed lines of questioning. We’ll see.