Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Down 0.8% – What’s Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s stock price was down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $100.52 and last traded at $101.06. Approximately 1,608,212 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,828,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $255.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.