Leerink Partners Has Lowered Expectations for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Leerink Partners from $136.00 to $119.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners’ target price suggests a potential upside of 19.20% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $99.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,482,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,765,870. The company has a market cap of $252.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.