Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. affiliate of the German Merck family business, Merck & Co. evolved into an independent American pharmaceutical company after World War I. Headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, the company maintains a substantial global presence, selling products and conducting research and clinical development worldwide. Outside the United States and Canada it commonly operates under the MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) name. Customers include hospitals, health systems, public health agencies and commercial pharmacies, and the company participates in public-private partnerships and global vaccination programs.

Merck places significant emphasis on research and development, investing in clinical pipelines, biologics, and vaccine technologies while engaging in collaborations with academic institutions, biotech firms and other industry partners. Its operations encompass discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global distribution. Executive leadership is led by Chief Executive Officer Robert M. Davis. The company’s business model combines in-house R&D with strategic alliances to advance new therapies and expand access to established products across diverse international markets.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $112.13 to $115.10
• 50-Day Range: $109.33 to $123.25
• 52-Week Range: $75.40 to $125.14
• Volume: 7.55 million shs
• Average Volume: 8.70 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $282.13 billion
• P/E Ratio: 32.18
• Dividend Yield: 2.98%
• Price Target: $128.18
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Merck & Co., Inc. scored higher than 94% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 29th out of 851 stocks in the medical sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Merck & Co., Inc. has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.68, and is based on 1 strong buy rating, 11 buy ratings, 7 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus price target of $128.18, representing about 12.2% upside from its current price of $114.23.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Merck & Co., Inc. has been the subject of 8 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 89.53%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Merck & Co., Inc. are expected to grow by 89.53% in the coming year, from $5.16 to $9.78 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 32.18, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.39.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 32.18, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 20.78.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Merck & Co., Inc. has a PEG Ratio of 2.53. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Merck & Co., Inc. has a P/B Ratio of 6.14. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.06% of the float of Merck & Co., Inc. has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Merck & Co., Inc. has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.55, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Merck & Co., Inc. has recently decreased by 4.69%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Merck & Co., Inc. pays a meaningful dividend of 3.02%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Merck & Co., Inc. has been increasing its dividend for 14 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 95.77%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 34.76% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 4.4 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.03

News Sentiment

Merck & Co., Inc. has a news sentiment score of 1.03. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.38 average news sentiment score of Medical companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 40 news articles for Merck & Co., Inc. this week, compared to 13 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

85 people have searched for MRK on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 6% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

48 people have added Merck & Co., Inc. to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 153% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Merck & Co., Inc. insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

0.17% of the stock of Merck & Co., Inc. is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

76.07% of the stock of Merck & Co., Inc. is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Record date for 4/7 Dividend: 3/16/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 4/7 Dividend: 3/16/2026
• Dividend Payable: 4/07/2026
• Last Earnings: 4/30/2026
• Today: 5/19/2026
• AGM 2026: 5/26/2026
• Investor update: 6/01/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 8/04/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Medical
• Industry: Large Cap Pharma
• Sub-Industry: Pharmaceuticals
• Current Symbol: NYSE:MRK
• CIK: 310158
• Web: www.merck.com
• Phone: (908) 740-4000
• Fax: 908-735-1253
• Employees: 75,000
• Year Founded: 1891

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Merck & Co., Inc.: $128.18
• High Price Target: $150.00
• Low Price Target: $90.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +12.2%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.68
• Research Coverage: 19 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $3.55
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 32.18
• Forward P/E Ratio: 22.14
• P/E Growth: 2.53
• Net Income: $18.25 billion
• Net Margins: 13.59%
• Pretax Margin: 17.68%
• Return on Equity: 27.55%
• Return on Assets: 10.73%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.02
• Current Ratio: 1.30
• Quick Ratio: 1.06

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $65.01 billion
• Price / Sales: 4.34
• Cash Flow: $11.60 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 9.85
• Book Value: $18.60 per share
• Price / Book: 6.14

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 2,469,820,000
• Free Float: 2,465,625,000
• Market Cap: $282.13 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.18