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

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 120,341 shares, a decrease of 34.8% from the January 15th total of 184,605 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 138,732 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 138,732 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck KGaA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Price Performance

Merck KGaA stock opened at $30.27 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.96. Merck KGaA has a one year low of $24.32 and a one year high of $31.00.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.27. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 13.92%.The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.08 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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.