Leerink Partnrs Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs cut their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Friday, April 26th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.03 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.11. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $8.63 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q3 2024 earnings at $2.27 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.25 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.19 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $10.90 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $11.96 EPS.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

MRK stock opened at $131.20 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.78, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 24,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the first quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.