Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Upgraded at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MRK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $93.00 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $85.25 and a 200 day moving average of $82.40. The stock has a market cap of $230.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.