Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $101.87 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.60 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $112.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.64.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds 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 position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.