Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 31.3% in April to 130,134 shares as of April 15, giving a short-interest ratio of 0.5 days, while the report lists 0.0% of shares as sold short.
• The stock carries an average analyst rating of Hold (four analysts), with Deutsche Bank cutting to Hold and Sanford C. Bernstein also assigning a Hold.
• Shares fell about 4.0% to $25.13 after the company missed quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.28 versus $0.47 expected and revenue of $6.11 billion versus $6.20 billion expected.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 130,134 shares, an increase of 31.3% from the March 31st total of 99,142 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 258,994 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MKKGY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck KGaA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Merck KGaA to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Merck KGaA Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of MKKGY stock traded down $1.05 on Wednesday, hitting $25.13. 55,600 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,425. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.59 and a 200 day moving average of $27.55. Merck KGaA has a fifty-two week low of $23.73 and a fifty-two week high of $31.00.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 12.31%. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck KGaA will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, commonly referred to as Merck Group, is a multinational science and technology company with origins dating back to 1668. The company develops and manufactures products and technologies across healthcare, life science and electronics applications. It is distinct from the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co; Merck KGaA is a European group headquartered in Darmstadt and is publicly listed in Germany with an OTC American depositary receipt available under the symbol MKKGY.

Merck's Healthcare business develops prescription medicines and related services focused on areas such as oncology, immunology, neurology (including therapies for multiple sclerosis) and fertility.

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