Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Down 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares dropped 2.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $94.48 and last traded at $95.98. Approximately 5,674,254 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 8,859,126 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $245.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company 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 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 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.