Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 198,269 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the previous session’s volume of 143,521 shares.The stock last traded at $28.02 and had previously closed at $27.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays downgraded shares of Merck KGaA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Merck KGaA currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.80 and its 200 day moving average is $26.19.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.27. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 13.92%.The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.08 billion. Analysts forecast that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA operates as a science and technology company in Germany. It operates through Life Science, Healthcare, and Electronics segments. The company’s Life Science segment offers tools, chemicals, and equipment for academic labs, biotech, and pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as industrial sector.