Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.69.

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. SVB Leerink dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Financial Avengers Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Landmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 89.4% in the fourth quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 78.0% in the fourth quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. 72.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of MRK traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $93.51. 808,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,318,572. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.89 and a twelve month high of $94.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $236.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.31. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 47.86% and a net margin of 26.27%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 31.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile (Get Rating)

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.

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