Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

MRK has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Argus started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $146.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.63. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.24 and a 52-week high of $156.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.44, a PEG ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.64%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 110,167 shares in the company, valued at $14,501,282.21. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,635 shares of company stock worth $18,011,040. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the third quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% in the third quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine.

Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.