Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Trading Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) traded down 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $105.80 and last traded at $106.13. 1,196,591 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 8,756,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $266.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.