Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Rating Lowered by Berenberg Bank

Key Points

• Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reducing the price target from $100.00 to $90.00, indicating an expected upside of 11.02% from the current price.
• Analysts have generally taken a cautious stance on Merck, with one Strong Buy rating, six Buy ratings, and thirteen Hold ratings.
• Merck recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates, but revenue was slightly below expectations at $15.81 billion.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Berenberg Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $90.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $100.00. Berenberg Bank's price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.02% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MRK opened at $81.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $202.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $119.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock worth $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,889,340,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,858,570,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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