Profund Advisors LLC Purchases 7,628 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Profund Advisors increased its Merck stake by 22.7% in the third quarter, purchasing 7,628 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 41,177 shares valued at approximately $5.98 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.07% of MRK.
• Merck reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $2.49 per share and revenue of $18.09 billion, while revenue increased 4.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $156.08.
• MRK shares opened at $149.75, near their 12-month high of $156.92, while company insiders sold 228,238 shares worth nearly $30 million over the past 90 days.

Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,177 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,628 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,969,856 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 263.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,934,312 shares during the period. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $197,550,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. HSBC raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.08.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $149.75 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $369.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $146.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.01 and a twelve month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

In related news, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total value of $6,805,108.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 results and raised outlook: Merck reported adjusted earnings of $2.49 per share versus the $2.09 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $18.09 billion, ahead of estimates. Management raised its 2026 sales and adjusted-profit outlook, providing the main catalyst for the stock’s advance. Merck tops quarterly estimates and hikes profit outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Growth beyond Keytruda: Keytruda, including the newer Qlex formulation, delivered stronger-than-expected sales, while WINREVAIR continued to expand rapidly. Newer product launches are helping offset losses from generic competition and support Merck’s growth outlook. Merck Q3 earnings call highlights pipeline progress and raised outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline progress: Positive Phase 3 endometrial-cancer data for Keytruda and sacituzumab tirumotecan, along with FDA priority review for the latter, strengthens confidence in Merck’s oncology pipeline and its ability to address future revenue pressure. Merck Phase 3 endometrial cancer data and FDA review
• Positive Sentiment: Supportive analyst action: Guggenheim raised its price target to $171 and maintained a buy rating, indicating additional potential upside based on the earnings and pipeline outlook.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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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