Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Target Lowered at Morgan Stanley

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $177.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.54% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. CICC Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $142.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. HSBC raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.9%

MRK traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,205,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,646,185. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.01 and a 1-year high of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.76.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Round Rock Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the second quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the second quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 8,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 8,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the second quarter. Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 3,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.