Mizuho Securities analyst Mara Goldstein reiterated a Buy rating and $97.00 price target on Merck (NYSE: MRK) following AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) news.

Goldstein commented, "Our thesis on MRK centers around KEYTRUDA as a driver of P&L transformation. Over the past week, competitors BMY (9LA) and now AZN (POSEIDON) have released news of clinical success in I/O+I/O+chemo combinations in 1L NSCLC, prompting weakness in MRK shares. For a variety of reasons, which we outline below, we continue to believe that KEYTRUDA+chemo will remain the dominant choice in 1L NSCLC. We believe the overall trajectory of KEYTRUDA remains unchanged."

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Shares of Merck closed at $82.26 yesterday.