Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 2.9% – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) were down 2.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $98.60 and last traded at $101.84. Approximately 5,045,437 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 8,795,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.46.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.17. The stock has a market cap of $259.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,636,000 after acquiring an additional 22,578 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $48,921,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.

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