Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating.

MKKGY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Merck KGaA in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Merck KGaA Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS MKKGY opened at $32.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.86. Merck KGaA has a fifty-two week low of $23.73 and a fifty-two week high of $34.19.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.07%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.