Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Target Raised at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald raised Merck’s price target from $145 to $155 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying 3.51% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: Merck has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.48, with 17 Buy, nine Hold, and one Sell rating.
• Merck exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.49 in EPS versus $2.09 expected and $18.09 billion in revenue versus $17.33 billion forecast; revenue increased 4.7% year over year.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Cantor Fitzgerald from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.51% from the stock's previous close.

MRK has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.48.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $149.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $369.46 billion, a PE ratio of 154.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.21. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $146.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.01 and a 1-year high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

In other news, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This trade represents a 50.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. This represents a 62.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company's stock worth $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 263.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,702,992 shares of the company's stock worth $347,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,778 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $260,560,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck's principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.

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