Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Merck KGaA in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HSBC raised shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Up 1.8%

Merck KGaA stock opened at $31.82 on Wednesday. Merck KGaA has a fifty-two week low of $23.73 and a fifty-two week high of $34.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $20.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.97.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.93 billion. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.07%. Equities research analysts expect that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 earnings per share 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.