Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation.

MKKGY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Merck KGaA in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. HSBC raised Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th.

Merck KGaA Stock Performance

OTCMKTS MKKGY opened at $31.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.73. Merck KGaA has a 1 year low of $23.73 and a 1 year high of $34.19.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. Merck KGaA had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, commonly referred to as Merck Group, is a multinational science and technology company with origins dating back to 1668. The company develops and manufactures products and technologies across healthcare, life science and electronics applications. It is distinct from the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co; Merck KGaA is a European group headquartered in Darmstadt and is publicly listed in Germany with an OTC American depositary receipt available under the symbol MKKGY.

Merck’s Healthcare business develops prescription medicines and related services focused on areas such as oncology, immunology, neurology (including therapies for multiple sclerosis) and fertility.