Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) PT Lowered to $125.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target cut by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $140.00 to $125.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.11% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.91.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.73 on Wednesday, hitting $113.52. The stock had a trading volume of 7,850,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,481,475. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $127.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $287.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

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

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.