Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on MKKGY. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Merck KGaA in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Performance

OTCMKTS MKKGY opened at $31.64 on Wednesday. Merck KGaA has a 1 year low of $23.73 and a 1 year high of $34.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.99.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. Merck KGaA had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 8.79%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.93 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS 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.