Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Cut to Hold at DZ Bank

DZ Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. DZ Bank currently has $153.00 price objective on the stock.

MRK has been the subject of several other research reports. HSBC boosted 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. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $146.76 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.35 and a 1 year high of $156.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $146.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.45. 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 company has a market cap of $362.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.19, a PEG ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,942,755. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard Deluca sold 11,699 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 135,635 shares of company stock worth $18,011,040 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 263.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,702,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,778 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $260,560,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus initiated coverage with a “strong buy” rating. Other coverage also cited a Wall Street “moderate buy” consensus and bullish forecasts, including a Cantor Fitzgerald price-target increase; the reports provided no target details. Read More., Read More., Read More., Read More..
• Positive Sentiment: Keytruda and Gardasil sales increased in the third quarter, providing support for revenue growth. Read More..
• Neutral Sentiment: A Baron Capital investor letter characterized business development as supporting Merck’s next growth phase, but the supplied excerpt gives no specific deal or forecast details. Read More..
• Negative Sentiment: Growth durability remains a concern: the Zacks report flags inventory reversals, slowing demand and looming competition as potential challenges to Keytruda and Gardasil momentum. Read More..

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.