Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given New $123.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $123.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MRK. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $101.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $112.00 and its 200 day moving average is $120.64. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.60 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.