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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target decreased by analysts at Guggenheim from $137.00 to $130.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 28.47% from the company’s previous close.

MRK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $101.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $111.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

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

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 19,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 4,643 shares during the last quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Hemenway Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the first quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 9,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 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.