Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Merck KGaA plunged 90.1% in July, falling to 9,648 shares as of July 15 from 97,736 shares on June 30.
• The stock was slightly lower on Friday, down 0.2% to $31.64, while trading volume came in below its average.
• Merck KGaA recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating on the stock.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,648 shares, a decrease of 90.1% from the June 30th total of 97,736 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 82,218 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Merck KGaA Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MKKGY traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.64. 41,656 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,923. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $31.21 and its 200-day moving average is $28.97. Merck KGaA has a 52 week low of $23.73 and a 52 week high of $34.19.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.07%.The business had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.93 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MKKGY. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Merck KGaA in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Merck KGaA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Merck KGaA to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Merck KGaA Company Profile

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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