The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective increased by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $92.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.23% from the company’s current price.

MRK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $102.37 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.84. The firm has a market cap of $254.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Severin Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 140.0% during the third quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 12,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 7,274 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 123,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,380,000 after purchasing an additional 3,804 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,157,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,160,000 after acquiring an additional 42,471 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 832,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,881,000 after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Payne Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 235.9% during the third quarter. Payne Capital Management LLC now owns 13,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 9,682 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.