Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 9.99% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $113.64. 8,943,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,972,410. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.44. The stock has a market cap of $280.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,889,340,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $585,192,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.