Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

MRK has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $179.00 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.76.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $144.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $355.85 billion, a PE ratio of 115.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.01 and a 12 month high of $156.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total value of $1,539,939.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. The trade was a 50.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $11,470,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,578,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,931,000 after acquiring an additional 51,393 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,184,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,577,000 after acquiring an additional 402,011 shares during the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $995,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 410.5% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 705,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,255,000 after acquiring an additional 567,249 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.