Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Short Interest Update

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 97,736 shares, a decrease of 66.7% from the June 15th total of 293,910 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 181,804 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MKKGY shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Merck KGaA in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Merck KGaA presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:MKKGY traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, hitting $32.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,980. Merck KGaA has a 12 month low of $23.73 and a 12 month high of $34.19. The company has a market capitalization of $20.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. Merck KGaA had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 8.79%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Merck KGaA Company Profile

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, commonly referred to as Merck Group, is a multinational science and technology company with origins dating back to 1668. The company develops and manufactures products and technologies across healthcare, life science and electronics applications. It is distinct from the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co; Merck KGaA is a European group headquartered in Darmstadt and is publicly listed in Germany with an OTC American depositary receipt available under the symbol MKKGY.

Merck’s Healthcare business develops prescription medicines and related services focused on areas such as oncology, immunology, neurology (including therapies for multiple sclerosis) and fertility.