Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$99.18 -0.68 (-0.68%)

(As of 11/22/2024 ET)

Merck & Co., Inc. - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2024)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Moderate Buy

Based on 19 Analyst Ratings

Sell
1

Hold
6

Buy
12

Based on 19 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 19 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 6 have given a hold rating, 10 have given a buy rating, and 2 have given a strong buy rating for MRK.

Consensus Price Target

$130.86
31.94% Upside

According to the 19 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Merck & Co., Inc., the average price target is $130.86. The highest price target for MRK is $155.00, while the lowest price target for MRK is $104.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 31.94% from the current price of $99.18.

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MRK Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 11/24/23 to 11/23/24	1 Month Ago 10/25/23 to 10/24/24	3 Months Ago 8/26/23 to 8/25/24	1 Year Ago 11/24/22 to 11/24/23
Strong Buy	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	10 Buy rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)
Hold	6 Hold rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)
Sell	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$130.86	$131.62	$134.58	$125.14
Forecasted Upside	31.94% Upside	24.31% Upside	15.42% Upside	22.85% Upside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy

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MRK Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

MRK Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Merck & Co., Inc.	Medical Companies	S&P 500
Consensus Rating Score	2.68	2.80	2.50
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	31.94% Upside	27,098.21% Upside	7.66% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent MRK News	Neutral News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export to Excel

Date	Brokerage	Analyst Name	Action	Rating	Price Target	Upside/Downside on Report Date
11/15/2024	Wolfe Research 3 of 5 stars	T. Anderson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Initiated Coverage	Peer Perform
11/11/2024	Daiwa America 0 of 5 stars	N. Nakagiri Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Strong-Buy ➝ Hold
11/11/2024	Daiwa Capital Markets 1 of 5 stars		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Neutral
11/7/2024	Truist Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$132.00 ➝ $130.00	+28.29%
11/6/2024	Guggenheim Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$137.00 ➝ $130.00	+28.14%
11/1/2024	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$125.00 ➝ $110.00	+7.78%
Get the Latest News and Ratings for MRK and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
11/1/2024	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$150.00 ➝ $136.00	+32.59%
11/1/2024	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$130.00 ➝ $123.00	+19.70%
10/25/2024	Citigroup Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$140.00 ➝ $130.00	+24.24%
10/17/2024	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	C. Breen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Initiated Coverage	Market Perform	$115.00	+4.14%
10/9/2024	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$142.00 ➝ $136.00	+23.32%
10/7/2024	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$142.00 ➝ $140.00	+28.83%
10/3/2024	Cantor Fitzgerald Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$155.00 ➝ $155.00	+39.53%
7/31/2024	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$150.00 ➝ $145.00	+29.13%
7/30/2024	Evercore ISI Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	U. Raffat Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Strong-Buy
6/5/2024	Argus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	J. Hellweg Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Strong-Buy
4/8/2024	Berenberg Bank Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$140.00 ➝ $143.00	+11.73%
3/11/2024	Societe Generale Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Hold ➝ Sell	$104.00	-15.33%
1/4/2024	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Market Perform ➝ Outperform	$125.00 ➝ $135.00	+17.63%
11/9/2023	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Buy	$115.00	+10.15%
7/14/2023	HSBC Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Hold	$123.00	+15.70%
4/16/2023	BTIG Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Neutral
4/10/2023	Mizuho Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Mara Goldstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Buy	$130.00	+15.44%
3/7/2023	Atlantic Securities Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Overweight	$122.00 ➝ $127.00	+14.14%
3/7/2023	Credit Suisse Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Outperform	$125.00 ➝ $126.00	+13.24%
3/6/2023	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Buy	$125.00	+16.95%
2/23/2023	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Overweight	$120.00 ➝ $125.00	+13.08%
2/3/2023	Leerink Partners Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Outperform	$120.00 ➝ $122.00	+17.92%
1/3/2023	Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target		$108.00 ➝ $120.00	+8.16%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Saturday at 08:27 PM ET.

Should I Buy Merck & Co., Inc. Stock? MRK Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Thursday, November 21, 2024. Please send any questions or comments about these Merck & Co., Inc. pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Merck & Co., Inc.
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Merck:

Merck recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.50, indicating strong financial performance.
The company has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.77 to $0.81, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders, with an annualized dividend yield of approximately 3.24%.
Merck's stock price is currently around $98.53, which is below its 1-year high of $134.63, suggesting potential for price appreciation as the market recovers.
With a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%, Merck demonstrates effective management and profitability, which are attractive traits for investors.
Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Merck, with a target price of $130.86, indicating positive sentiment and potential upside in the stock price.

Merck & Co., Inc.
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Merck for these reasons:

Merck's revenue growth of 4.4% year-over-year is positive, but it may not be sufficient to meet the high expectations set by analysts, which could lead to volatility in stock performance.
The company's P/E ratio of 20.49 suggests that the stock may be overvalued compared to its earnings, which could deter value-focused investors.
Recent downgrades from analysts, including a reduction in price targets by firms like Morgan Stanley and Daiwa Capital Markets, may indicate a cautious outlook on the stock's near-term performance.
Merck's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, while manageable, indicates that the company is using a significant amount of debt to finance its operations, which could pose risks in a rising interest rate environment.
With a quick ratio of 1.15, Merck's liquidity position is just above the threshold, suggesting that it may face challenges in meeting short-term obligations if cash flow issues arise.

MRK Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 19 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. is $130.86, with a high forecast of $155.00 and a low forecast of $104.00.
: 19 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. in the last twelve months. There is currently 1 sell rating, 6 hold ratings, 10 buy ratings and 2 strong buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" MRK shares.
: According to analysts, Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock has a predicted upside of 31.94% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Over the previous 90 days, Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock had 2 downgrades by analysts.
: Merck & Co., Inc. has been rated by research analysts at Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Cantor Fitzgerald, Citigroup, Daiwa America, Daiwa Capital Markets, Guggenheim, Morgan Stanley, Sanford C. Bernstein, Truist Financial, UBS Group, Wells Fargo & Company, and Wolfe Research in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Merck & Co., Inc. less than other "medical" companies. The consensus rating score for Merck & Co., Inc. is 2.68 while the average consensus rating score for "medical" companies is 2.80. Learn more on how MRK compares to other companies.

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This page (NYSE:MRK) was last updated on 11/23/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Stock Forecast & Price Target