Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Upgraded to Hold at HSBC

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was upgraded by investment analysts at HSBC to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on MKKGY. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Merck KGaA in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck KGaA currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Merck KGaA stock opened at $31.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Merck KGaA has a 12 month low of $23.73 and a 12 month high of $34.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.73. The stock has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.00.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.14. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.07%.The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.93 billion. Research analysts predict that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current 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.