Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $98.71 and last traded at $101.11, with a volume of 1939141 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $104.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.4 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $112.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.04. The firm has a market cap of $259.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.