FY2025 EPS Estimate for Merck & Co., Inc. Reduced by Analyst

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their FY2025 EPS estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Gould now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $8.88 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $9.01. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share.

Several other research firms have also commented on MRK. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.2 %

MRK stock opened at $83.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.