Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 97,736 shares, a decrease of 66.7% from the June 15th total of 293,910 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 181,804 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MKKGY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Merck KGaA in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Price Performance

OTCMKTS MKKGY traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $31.85. 38,483 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,768. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.83. Merck KGaA has a 1 year low of $23.73 and a 1 year high of $34.19. The company has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Merck KGaA Company Profile

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.