Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 273.6% in October

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 146,247 shares, a growth of 273.6% from the September 30th total of 39,149 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 182,220 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKKGY has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group cut shares of Merck KGaA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck KGaA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Merck KGaA Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of OTCMKTS:MKKGY opened at $33.67 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.49 and its 200 day moving average is $29.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Merck KGaA has a 1 year low of $23.73 and a 1 year high of $34.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.95.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA is a Germany-based science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt. Founded in 1668, it is one of the world’s oldest operating pharmaceutical and chemical companies. The company is separate from Merck & Co, Inc, the U.S.-based pharmaceutical company, and operates as EMD in the United States and Canada.

Merck KGaA conducts its operations through three primary business sectors: Life Science, Healthcare and Electronics. Its Life Science business supplies laboratory products, research tools, bioprocessing technologies and services used by pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic and industrial customers.