Guggenheim Lowers Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target to $130.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Guggenheim from $137.00 to $130.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price suggests a potential upside of 28.47% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group decreased 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 research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $101.19 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.60 and a 12-month high of $134.63. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $111.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.9% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 19,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,596,000 after buying an additional 4,643 shares during the period. Chapman Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Hemenway Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 9,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.