Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Short Interest Update

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 293,910 shares, a growth of 220.8% from the May 31st total of 91,604 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 140,159 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MKKGY. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Merck KGaA in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Merck KGaA presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MKKGY traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $33.52. 140,525 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 111,087. The company has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.15 and a 200 day moving average of $28.43. Merck KGaA has a 1-year low of $23.73 and a 1-year high of $33.85.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current 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.