UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target on Merck from $130 to $145 and kept a "buy" rating, implying about a 20.64% upside from the current share price.
• Other banks including Wells Fargo, Barclays and JPMorgan have also raised targets or recommended overweight, leaving Merck with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average analyst target of $128.47.
• Merck beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.04 vs. $2.01; revenue $16.40B, +5% YoY), set FY2026 guidance of 5.00–5.15 EPS, and is trading near $120 with a PE of ~16.5 and a market cap of about $296.9B.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $130.00 to $145.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 20.64% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $120.19. The company had a trading volume of 6,351,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,605,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $296.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $119.05 and a 200-day moving average of $104.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.03. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 28.08% and a return on equity of 44.57%. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 37,685 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.92, for a total transaction of $4,556,870.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,368,240.08. This trade represents a 19.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.87, for a total transaction of $1,828,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,583,278.39. The trade was a 41.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company's stock worth $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company's stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company's stock worth $17,444,000 after acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,000 after buying an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,364,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.

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