Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

MRK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $114.42 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.34. The company has a market cap of $282.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.41, for a total value of $1,184,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 70,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,361,522.15. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Michael Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.91, for a total value of $609,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,759,460.58. The trade was a 13.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.