Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $33.48 and last traded at $33.31, with a volume of 5246 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Merck KGaA in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck KGaA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.02.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.07%.The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. On average, analysts predict that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, commonly referred to as Merck Group, is a multinational science and technology company with origins dating back to 1668. The company develops and manufactures products and technologies across healthcare, life science and electronics applications. It is distinct from the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co; Merck KGaA is a European group headquartered in Darmstadt and is publicly listed in Germany with an OTC American depositary receipt available under the symbol MKKGY.

Merck’s Healthcare business develops prescription medicines and related services focused on areas such as oncology, immunology, neurology (including therapies for multiple sclerosis) and fertility.