BUZZ-Street View: Merck's Gardasil shipment pause hits investor confidence

Merck MRK.N said on Tuesday it would not ship its HPV vaccine Gardasil in China until at least the middle of this year due to weak discretionary spending, a move that dented its full-year forecast

GARDASIL WOES LOWER CONFIDENCE

J.P.Morgan ("Overweight", PT: $130) says the Gardasil update is disappointing but broader story largely unchanged

UBS ("Buy", PT: $120) says robust Q4 cancer drug Keytruda sales were not enough to offset Gardasil business miss

BMO Capital Markets ("Market Perform", PT: $96) says "Gardasil cut lowers confidence"

Merck shares' 9% decline on Tuesday was not just due to change in expectations for Gardasil, but also reflects multiple changes to the company's outlook for the vaccine, which has hit management credibility - BMO

Leerink Partners("Outperform", PT: $113) says Merck sell-off on Tuesday was an over-reaction, fueled by investor loss of confidence in management's understanding of their situation in China with Gardasil