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

Company Overview

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures, and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets worldwide through its Human Health and Animal Health businesses.

Merck’s pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious disease, cardiology, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Its products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat various cancers; Gardasil, a vaccine that helps protect against human papillomavirus (HPV); and Januvia, a treatment for type 2 diabetes. Through its Animal Health business, marketed as MSD Animal Health in many international markets, Merck provides veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and technology-based solutions for livestock and companion animals.

Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. is separate from the Germany-based company Merck KGaA, which operates as EMD in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co. conducts research, manufacturing, and commercial activities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and other regions. The company is led by Robert M. Davis, who serves as chairman and chief executive officer.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $147.19 to $149.41
• 50-Day Range: $120.91 to $156.54
• 52-Week Range: $77.58 to $156.92
• Volume: 1.64 million shs
• Average Volume: 10.73 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $364.31 billion
• P/E Ratio: 118.12
• Dividend Yield: 2.30%
• Price Target: $149.80
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

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

Merck & Co., Inc. scored higher than 91% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 42nd out of 908 stocks in the healthcare sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.4 / 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 2.65, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 15 buy ratings, 8 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for Merck & Co., Inc. is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Merck & Co., Inc. has been the subject of 18 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 250.00%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Merck & Co., Inc. are expected to grow by 250.00% in the coming year, from $2.76 to $9.66 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 118.75, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 39.17.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 118.75, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Healthcare sector average P/E ratio of about 270.70.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Merck & Co., Inc. has a PEG Ratio of 6.54. 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 7.00. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.99% 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 2.84, 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 13.35%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Merck & Co., Inc. pays a meaningful dividend of 2.26%, 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 272.00%. 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 35.20% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 4.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.16

News Sentiment

Merck & Co., Inc. has a news sentiment score of 1.16. 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 0.76 average news sentiment score of Healthcare companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 38 news articles for Merck & Co., Inc. this week, compared to 10 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

66 people have searched for MRK on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 35% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

60 people have added Merck & Co., Inc. to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 275% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.4 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Merck & Co., Inc. insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $29,977,783.00 in 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 7/8 Dividend: 6/15/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 7/8 Dividend: 6/15/2026
• Dividend Payable: 7/08/2026
• Last Earnings: 8/04/2026
• Today: 9/09/2026
• Wells Fargo 21st Annual Healthcare Conference: 9/09/2026
• Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference: 9/14/2026
• Record date for 10/7 Dividend: 9/15/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 10/7 Dividend: 9/15/2026
• Dividend Payable: 10/07/2026
• Investor update: 10/26/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/29/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Healthcare
• Industry: Pharmaceuticals
• 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.: $149.80
• High Price Target: $180.00
• Low Price Target: $90.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +1.6%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.65
• Research Coverage: 23 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.25
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 117.83
• Forward P/E Ratio: 53.40
• P/E Growth: 6.54
• Net Income: $18.25 billion
• Net Margins: 4.77%
• Pretax Margin: 8.94%
• Return on Equity: 16.73%
• Return on Assets: 6.13%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.22
• Current Ratio: 1.32
• Quick Ratio: 1.10

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $65.01 billion
• Price / Sales: 5.59
• Cash Flow: $11.20 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 13.16
• Book Value: $21.22 per share
• Price / Book: 6.95

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 2,467,170,000
• Free Float: 2,462,978,000
• Market Cap: $363.60 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.21