Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Coverage Initiated at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup initiated coverage of Merck with a neutral rating and a $125 price target, implying roughly a 9.8% upside from the current share price.
• Merck beat estimates for the quarter (EPS ($1.28) vs. consensus ($1.47)) and revenue of $16.29 billion vs. $15.85 billion expected, and set FY2026 guidance of 5.04–5.16 EPS (analysts expect ~5.15).
• The analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $128.18, institutional investors own about 76% of the stock, and insiders have sold roughly 209,258 shares (~$25.1M) in the past 90 days.

Analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup's price target points to a potential upside of 9.77% from the stock's current price.

MRK has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $113.88. 811,875 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,179,587. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total transaction of $14,485,422.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 68,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This trade represents a 63.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total value of $4,556,870.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 209,258 shares of company stock worth $25,101,593 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gould Asset Management LLC CA increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the first quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA now owns 2,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $62,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.1% during the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,553,000 after buying an additional 3,138 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 19,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,340,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the first quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 95,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,429,000 after buying an additional 21,752 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.