Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for MRK Earnings

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, October 21st. Zacks Research analyst S. Ganoria now expects that the company will earn $1.46 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.72. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.'s current full-year earnings is $7.88 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.'s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.93 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $7.74 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.39 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $2.43 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $106.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,046,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,759,508. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $114.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.80 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $270.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 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 data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nova R Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. CGN Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,512,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 10,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,445,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,814 shares of the company's stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.6% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 9,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.