Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 0.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares were down 0.9% during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $110.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Merck & Co., Inc. traded as low as $101.31 and last traded at $101.35. Approximately 1,320,729 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 8,818,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.32.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.