Insider trade

CFO sold ~$5.02M of MRK shares in the open market

Traded Feb 4, 2026 · Filed Feb 6, 2026

MerckMRK

~$5.02M
Reported value · 42K sh @ $119.6112: 90K
Holds after · shares reported: +21.5%
stock since the trade · S&P 500 +11.3%, $118.33 → $143.81 on Oct 1

Why it stands out

The money chief of Merck sold $5.02M of Merck shares. Nobody planned it ahead of time.

Written from the filing's own figures. OQRO describes what was reported and never tells you what to buy or sell

View the official recordSEC Form 4 — Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership

All the details

Dates, kept separate

Transaction date: Feb 4, 2026
Reporting period: Not applicable
Filed with the SEC: Feb 6, 2026

CFO$1M+

Context

Classification

open market sale

Code S — open-market or private sale

Absolute commitment

~$5,023,312

Shares × reported transaction price

Timing vs results

1 day after results of Feb 3, 2026, 85 days before results of Apr 30, 2026

Results dates are the company's own 8-K (Item 2.02). Many companies only let insiders trade in a window after results

Price at the time

Closed at $118.33 on Feb 4, 2026, at its 52-week high, after a 17% rise over the previous 30 trading days

52-week range $73.47 (May 14, 2025) to $118.33 (Feb 4, 2026), 100% of the way up, from 251 adjusted closes. 30 trading days earlier: $101.09 on Dec 19, 2025. Describes the past only, not a forecast

Planned / mechanical clue

None found in footnotes

Only flagged when a footnote says so; never inferred

Securities lawsuit open at the trade date

A securities lawsuit naming the company as a defendant was filed on Feb 12, 2025 in the U.S. District Court, D. New Jersey. A filing is an allegation, not a finding.

IN RE MERCK & CO., INC. SECURITIES LITIGATION, docket 2:25-cv-01208, via CourtListener (court records). Nature of suit 850, company named as first defendant

FDA decision near the trade

FDA approved Keytruda on Feb 10, 2026, 6 days after this trade.

New use approved (efficacy supplement). Active ingredient: Pembrolizumab. From openFDA. Dates only; no link between the two is implied

After it was reported

After	Stock	S&P 500	Difference
7 days	+3.3%	-1.6%	+4.9%
30 days	-1.2%	-2.5%	+1.3%
90 days	-5.4%	+6.5%	-11.9%
180 days	+11.3%	+11.4%	-0.1%

Past results only. Not a forecast.

Source receipt

Record ID: 0000310158-26-000038
Filed / recorded: Feb 6, 2026, 9:13 PM UTC
Added to OQRO: Oct 2, 2026, 3:52 AM UTC
Parser: form4-xml-v1
Data quality: Verified: identifiers matched exactly
Issuer: Merck & Co., Inc.
Issuer CIK: 310158
Ticker: MRK
Reporting person: Caroline Litchfield
Relationship: Officer
Officer title: EVP & CFO
Security: Common Stock
Table: Non-derivative (Table I)
Transaction date: Feb 4, 2026
Transaction code: S
Shares / units: 41,997
Price per share: $119.6112
Acquired / disposed: Disposed (D)
Shares owned after: 90,192.194
Ownership form: Direct
Amendment: No

Footnotes from the filing

The price reported in Column 4 is a weighted average price. These shares were sold in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $119.5400 to $119.7800, inclusive. The reporting person undertakes to provide to Merck & Co., Inc., any security holder of Merck & Co., Inc., or the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, upon request, full information regarding the number of shares sold at each separate price within the range set forth above in this footnote.