Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MRK. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MRK opened at $121.92 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $122.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $302.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.22% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.88, for a total transaction of $2,437,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 80,615 shares in the company, valued at $9,825,356.20. The trade was a 19.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total value of $1,828,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 188,603 shares of company stock worth $22,612,212. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped estimates (EPS and revenue) and management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $5.00–$5.15 while citing growth drivers such as Keytruda, Animal Health and new drug launches — a near-term earnings beat that supports upside. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target from $122 to $140 and kept a Buy rating, giving analysts’ support to the rally and indicating ~15% further upside from recent levels. Guggenheim PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Other broker notes are bullish — Citigroup and Scotiabank published favorable outlooks/target increases highlighting execution and price appreciation potential. Citigroup Forecast Scotiabank Lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks flags a “subdued” 2026 outlook driven by acquisition-related charges, which mutes the beat; but it still points to Keytruda, Animal Health and new launches as the primary growth levers — a mixed read on near-term margin/earnings progression. Zacks Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Robert M. Davis sold ~47,434 shares, CFO Caroline Litchfield ~41,997 shares, EVP Richard Deluca ~37,685 shares, CMO Chirfi Guindo ~20,000 and multiple other senior executives also trimmed positions — large, coordinated filings that may weigh on sentiment despite corporate explanations (e.g., diversification or tax/planned sales). SEC filings: CEO Form 4 CFO Form 4 EVP Form 4

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.