Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target to $150.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $145.00 to $150.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.40% from the company’s current price.

MRK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $128.87 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 26,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% during the second quarter. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC now owns 38,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,989,000 after buying an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the second quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 5,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Evanson Financial LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $385,000. 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.