Investors Respond Little To Merck Sleep Aid Advancements
Shares of Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) slid slightly on Wednesday despite an announcement that the company's new sleep aid could soon rival Ambien. This drop, however, may not have been a surprise to company officials, who have themselves sold millions of dollars in stock in recent months.
According to The Wall Street Journal, insomnia patients taking an experimental sleep aid developed by Merck nodded off faster and stayed asleep longer than those taking placebos. The drug, suvorexant, works by blocking the brain's reception of the chemical orexin, which creates alertness in the body.
If the drug continues to succeed in clinical trials, it could open up a new market for sleep aids, as it can keep patients asleep longer than other drugs on the market, including Ambien.
However, despite the promising results, the stock was down 0.18 percent as of 3:57 p.m. What's more, Richard Bowles III, executive vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer, exercised his market option on May 12 for 27,377 shares valued at $20.66, then sold those shares for $38.50 each for a profit of $484,390, according to insider trades filed with the SEC.
Why do you think Bowles is selling his shares during what seems to be a strong time for the company?
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