Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Raised to “Outperform” at Wolfe Research

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.15% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $110.52 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $112.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $99.60 and a 200-day moving average of $88.98.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $285,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 617.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 369.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 25,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 19,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 14,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck is reported to be in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines in a deal that could value the biotech at roughly $30 billion — a move that would materially bolster Merck’s oncology pipeline and justify a strategic premium in the stock if completed. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts turned more bullish this week: Wolfe Research upgraded MRK to Outperform with a $135 target and Scotiabank reaffirmed a Buy — plus Citi and UBS published forecasts calling for strong upside. These upgrades/support raise positive sentiment and could attract buying interest. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare sector momentum and positive coverage on Merck’s growth profile (Zacks/MarketBeat pieces) are supporting the stock as investors rotate back into defensive, value-priced pharma names. This macro tailwind can amplify positive reactions to company-specific news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is underway and is expected to generate pipeline updates and potential M&A announcements across the sector; this adds event-driven volatility to MRK in the near term rather than a clear directional signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck publicly urged that U.S. childhood immunization schedule changes be grounded in comprehensive data after the CDC trimmed some recommendations — a policy debate that creates uncertainty around vaccine-related revenues but is not an immediate earnings shock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets (FT, Zacks) echoed the Revolution Medicines talks; until a deal is announced, takeover reports typically produce short-term swings as investors weigh strategic upside vs. deal risk and price. Read More.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.