Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Bank of America from $118.00 to $112.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 26.61% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $2.28 on Wednesday, hitting $88.46. The stock had a trading volume of 5,197,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,506,948. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $87.33 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.12. The stock has a market cap of $223.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.