Merck & Company (MRK)

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

• Looking at the total return, or performance of 63.4% in the last 5 years of Merck & Company, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (66.2%)
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 58.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (47.5%).

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

• Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of 10.3% in the last 5 years of Merck & Company, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (10.7%)
• During the last 3 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 16.6%, which is higher, thus better than the value of 13.9% from the benchmark.

Volatility:

'In finance, volatility (symbol σ) is the degree of variation of a trading price series over time as measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns. Historic volatility measures a time series of past market prices. Implied volatility looks forward in time, being derived from the market price of a market-traded derivative (in particular, an option). Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (13.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 19.4% of Merck & Company is higher, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (12.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 19% is greater, thus worse.

DownVol:

'Risk measures typically quantify the downside risk, whereas the standard deviation (an example of a deviation risk measure) measures both the upside and downside risk. Specifically, downside risk in our definition is the semi-deviation, that is the standard deviation of all negative returns.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 19.4% in the last 5 years of Merck & Company, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (14.6%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 18.8%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 14.2% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio (also known as the Sharpe index, the Sharpe measure, and the reward-to-variability ratio) is a way to examine the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The ratio measures the excess return (or risk premium) per unit of deviation in an investment asset or a trading strategy, typically referred to as risk, named after William F. Sharpe.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.62) in the period of the last 5 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.4 of Merck & Company is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.74 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.91).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio measures the risk-adjusted return of an investment asset, portfolio, or strategy. It is a modification of the Sharpe ratio but penalizes only those returns falling below a user-specified target or required rate of return, while the Sharpe ratio penalizes both upside and downside volatility equally. Though both ratios measure an investment's risk-adjusted return, they do so in significantly different ways that will frequently lead to differing conclusions as to the true nature of the investment's return-generating efficiency. The Sortino ratio is used as a way to compare the risk-adjusted performance of programs with differing risk and return profiles. In general, risk-adjusted returns seek to normalize the risk across programs and then see which has the higher return unit per risk.'

• Looking at the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.4 in the last 5 years of Merck & Company, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.56)
• Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of 0.75 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.8).

Ulcer:

'Ulcer Index is a method for measuring investment risk that addresses the real concerns of investors, unlike the widely used standard deviation of return. UI is a measure of the depth and duration of drawdowns in prices from earlier highs. Using Ulcer Index instead of standard deviation can lead to very different conclusions about investment risk and risk-adjusted return, especially when evaluating strategies that seek to avoid major declines in portfolio value (market timing, dynamic asset allocation, hedge funds, etc.). The Ulcer Index was originally developed in 1987. Since then, it has been widely recognized and adopted by the investment community. According to Nelson Freeburg, editor of Formula Research, Ulcer Index is “perhaps the most fully realized statistical portrait of risk there is.'

• The Ulcer Ratio over 5 years of Merck & Company is 8.18 , which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (3.96 ) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 7.02 , which is larger, thus better than the value of 4.01 from the benchmark.

MaxDD:

'A maximum drawdown is the maximum loss from a peak to a trough of a portfolio, before a new peak is attained. Maximum Drawdown is an indicator of downside risk over a specified time period. It can be used both as a stand-alone measure or as an input into other metrics such as 'Return over Maximum Drawdown' and the Calmar Ratio. Maximum Drawdown is expressed in percentage terms.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-19.3 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum DrawDown of -21.3 days of Merck & Company is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -18.2 days, which is larger, thus better than the value of -19.3 days from the benchmark.

MaxDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Max Drawdown Duration is the worst (the maximum/longest) amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs) in days.'

• Looking at the maximum days below previous high of 390 days in the last 5 years of Merck & Company, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (187 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark is 217 days, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 139 days from the benchmark.

AveDuration:

'The Average Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

• Looking at the average days below previous high of 95 days in the last 5 years of Merck & Company, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (41 days)
• Looking at average time in days below previous high water mark in of 49 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (36 days).