Promising Pharmaceutical Stocks To Follow Today – April 18th

18 Apr 2025, 20:08 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk A/S, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc., and AbbVie are the five Pharmaceutical stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeat’s stock screener tool. Pharmaceutical stocks represent equity shares in companies dedicated to the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of medications and other health-related products. These stocks are typically influenced by regulatory approvals, clinical trial outcomes, patent statuses, and market demand for new therapies, making them both potential opportunities for growth and subjects to significant market risks. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Pharmaceutical stocks within the last several days.

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.

NYSE LLY traded up $106.80 on Friday, reaching $841.70. 10,843,294 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,420,888. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $829.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $820.64. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $677.09 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $798.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on LLY

Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO)

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S stock traded down $4.89 on Friday, reaching $57.99. 32,192,935 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,963,203. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $57.28 and a fifty-two week high of $148.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61.

Read Our Latest Research Report on NVO

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.

JNJ traded up $3.51 on Friday, reaching $157.42. 10,972,370 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,960,814. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $140.68 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $159.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.06. The company has a market cap of $379.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Read Our Latest Research Report on JNJ

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.47 on Friday, reaching $77.93. 21,305,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,689,375. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.93 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.52. The stock has a market cap of $196.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Read Our Latest Research Report on MRK

AbbVie (ABBV)

AbbVie Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.

NYSE ABBV traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $172.78. The company had a trading volume of 8,474,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,997,458. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock has a market cap of $305.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. AbbVie has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66.