Wall Street Zen Downgrades Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck from “Buy” to “Hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 16 Buy ratings, 11 Holds, and an average price target of $145.76.
• Merck reported quarterly revenue of $16.61 billion, exceeding estimates, while adjusted EPS of $(0.13) also beat expectations; revenue increased 5.1% year over year.
• Insiders sold approximately 228,238 shares worth $30.0 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 76.07% of the company.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $143.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $179.00 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.76.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3%

MRK opened at $144.24 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $142.73 and its 200-day moving average is $127.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.01 and a one year high of $156.92. The company has a market capitalization of $355.85 billion, a PE ratio of 115.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $2,710,857.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,569,312.29. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $1,012,530,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969,856 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,210,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783,482 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $254,206,000. 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 and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

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