Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $123.45 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $125.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The firm had revenue of $16.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. This trade represents a 41.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.