Leerink Partnrs Issues Pessimistic Outlook for MRK Earnings

Key Points

• Leerink Partners has lowered its Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Merck & Co., Inc. to $2.26, down from a previous forecast of $2.35.
• Merck's current consensus rating is a "Hold" with an average price target of $107.44, reflecting mixed opinions from various analysts.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 to be paid on October 7th, marking a yield of 4.1% for shareholders.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 30th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.26 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.35. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.'s Q1 2026 earnings at $2.09 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.17 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.80. The company has a market cap of $196.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.