Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Up 0.3% - Should You Buy?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 0.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $105.11 and last traded at $104.53. 1,714,721 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 8,750,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $113.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd 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 bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.