Merck & Company (MRK)

TotalReturn:

'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'

• Looking at the total return, or increase in value of 64.3% in the last 5 years of Merck & Company, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (74.2%)
• Looking at total return, or increase in value in of 37.4% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (50.1%).

CAGR:

'The compound annual growth rate isn't a true return rate, but rather a representational figure. It is essentially a number that describes the rate at which an investment would have grown if it had grown the same rate every year and the profits were reinvested at the end of each year. In reality, this sort of performance is unlikely. However, CAGR can be used to smooth returns so that they may be more easily understood when compared to alternative investments.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (11.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.4% of Merck & Company is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 11.2% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (14.5%).

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

• Looking at the 30 days standard deviation 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 (13.3%)
• During the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation is 18.1%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 13% from the benchmark.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (9.6%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside deviation of 13.2% of Merck & Company is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (9.4%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside deviation of 12.8% is greater, thus worse.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio is the measure of risk-adjusted return of a financial portfolio. Sharpe ratio is a measure of excess portfolio return over the risk-free rate relative to its standard deviation. Normally, the 90-day Treasury bill rate is taken as the proxy for risk-free rate. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe ratio is considered superior relative to its peers. The measure was named after William F Sharpe, a Nobel laureate and professor of finance, emeritus at Stanford University.'

• The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of Merck & Company is 0.41, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.69) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.93) in the period of the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.48 is lower, thus worse.

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.'

• The excess return divided by the downside deviation over 5 years of Merck & Company is 0.6, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (0.96) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation is 0.68, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 1.27 from the benchmark.

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 7.37 , which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (3.97 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Ulcer Index in of 7.04 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (4.1 ).

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 drop from peak to valley of -19.2 days of Merck & Company is higher, thus better.
• Looking at maximum reduction from previous high in of -18.2 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (-19.3 days).

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). Many assume Max DD Duration is the length of time between new highs during which the Max DD (magnitude) occurred. But that isn’t always the case. The Max DD duration is the longest time between peaks, period. So it could be the time when the program also had its biggest peak to valley loss (and usually is, because the program needs a long time to recover from the largest loss), but it doesn’t have to be'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 277 days in the last 5 years of Merck & Company, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (187 days)
• Compared with SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days under water of 217 days is larger, thus worse.

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (42 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark of 65 days of Merck & Company is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (37 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 49 days is higher, thus worse.