Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given New $113.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $113.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.29% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MRK. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE MRK traded down $1.58 on Tuesday, hitting $96.34. 3,231,652 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,993,121. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $243.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $99.95 and a 200-day moving average of $109.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 51,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 6,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the second quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 26,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,584,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,922,000 after buying an additional 634,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.