Q3 EPS Estimate for Merck & Co., Inc. Reduced by Analyst

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note issued to investors on Monday, October 21st. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.46 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.72. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $7.88 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.93 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $7.74 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.39 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $2.43 EPS.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $106.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $270.15 billion, a PE ratio of 118.51, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $114.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 17,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 48,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,454,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 41,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.