Market Madness Showdown: AstraZeneca vs. Merck

In honor of March Madness, The Motley Fool's health-care team has assembled its own bracket consisting of the 16 largest pharmaceutical and biotech stocks on the market. The series gets under way with a tough matchup between two struggling giants of the pharmaceutical industry: AstraZeneca and Merck . To learn the bull and bear cases for each stock -- and to see which stock will move on to the Elite Eight -- watch the following video.

Can Merck beat the patent cliff?
This titan of the pharmaceutical industry stumbled into 2013 and continues to battle patent expirations and pipeline problems. Is Merck still a solid dividend play, or should investors be looking elsewhere? In a new premium research report on Merck, the Fool tackles all of the company's moving parts, its major market opportunities, and reasons to both buy and sell. To find out more, click here to claim your copy today.

The article Market Madness Showdown: AstraZeneca vs. Merck originally appeared on Fool.com.

Brenton Flynn, Max Macaluso, Ph.D., and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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