Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Upgrades Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to “Buy”

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was upgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $150.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.57% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $121.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.45. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $123.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. The trade was a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,361,522.15. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock valued at $38,281,735 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 39,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after buying an additional 4,528 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 72,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,582,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 292,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,740,000 after acquiring an additional 14,114 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Searle & CO. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 53,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,596,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.