Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Upgraded at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS MKKGY opened at $23.76 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.49. Merck KGaA has a 52 week low of $23.76 and a 52 week high of $31.00. The firm has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.19). Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 12.31%.The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.