Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14, Zacks reports. Merck KGaA had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 9.03%.

Merck KGaA Trading Up 6.8%

Shares of MKKGY stock traded up $1.83 on Wednesday, hitting $28.57. 84,684 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 119,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.46. Merck KGaA has a one year low of $23.73 and a one year high of $31.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKKGY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck KGaA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

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.