Guggenheim Reiterates Buy Rating for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Guggenheim in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price points to a potential upside of 47.56% from the company’s current price.

MRK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $77.93. 5,033,803 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,603,550. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $196.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.