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Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Merck & Co., Inc. logo
$100.41 +2.97 (+3.05%)
(As of 11/21/2024 ET)

About Merck & Co., Inc. Stock (NYSE:MRK)

Key Stats

Today's Range
$96.95
$100.45
50-Day Range
$96.30
$118.68
52-Week Range
$94.48
$134.63
Volume
10.82 million shs
Average Volume
9.00 million shs
Market Capitalization
$254.00 billion
P/E Ratio
21.05
Dividend Yield
3.07%
Price Target
$130.86
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy

Company Overview

Merck & Co., Inc. is a US-based multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company. It was officially founded in 1891 as the US arm of Merck Group, headquartered in Germany. Merck Group was founded in 1668 when Friedrick Jacob Merck purchased a pharmacy in Darmstadt, Germany. The company transformed from a pharmacy into a drug manufacturer in 1827 with the commercialization of morphine and the perfection of the manufacturing process. The company will later gain recognition for isolating and commercializing the manufacture of cocaine as well.

Merck Group sent Theodore Weicker to New York as its representative in 1889 and he quickly began to set up operations. The original investment of $200,000 resulted in a facility in lower Manhattan and the addition of Merck family member George Merck to the project. They began operations in 1891 and were in business as the US branch of Merck Group until 1917 and the onset of World War I.

World War I brought about the Trading With The Enemy Act of 1917 and the nationalization of Merck Group’s US operations. Those operations were repurchased at a government auction only 2 years later with the help of Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, but the split was done. The company retained rights to the Merck name in the US but remained independent. One of many noteworthy achievements in the post-War period is the discovery of streptomycin, which was revolutionary in treating tuberculosis.

In 1953 the company merged with Sharp& Dohme to form the then 2nd largest US drug manufacturer. The merger brought smallpox vaccines to the portfolio and opened a new avenue of research for the business. Since then, advancements in vaccine technology include treatments for mumps and chickenpox. Other notable advancements include the discovery of statins as a cholesterol inhibitor and work in veterinary medicine.

Today, Merck & Co operates through 2 segments and under 2 different names with a headquarters in Kenilworth, NJ.  The company operates as Merck & Co in the US and as Merck Sharp & Dohme outside the US and Canada. The 2 segments are Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. Revenue topped $49 billion in 2022 and employed more than 68,000 people. The company has 8 research facilities near major university systems, including 7 in the US and 1 in the UK. As of 2022, the company had 82 pipeline products in Phase 2 trials, 30 in Phase 3 trials and 3 under review.

The Pharmaceutical segment researches discover and commercializes human health products in several areas of medicine. These include but are not limited to oncology, acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes. This segment has 6 blockbuster drugs as of late 2022, with each generating more than $1 billion in revenue. The leading treatments are Keytruda for treating cancer-related immune conditions, Gardisil which is a vaccine for HPV and Januvia for treating Type-II diabetes. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary healthcare products and services. Both segments sell to healthcare facilities and distributors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

See Top Rated MarketRank™ Stocks
100th Percentile Overall Score

MRK MarketRank™: 

Merck & Co., Inc. scored higher than 100% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 2nd out of 952 stocks in the medical sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

  • Consensus Rating

    Merck & Co., Inc. has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.68, and is based on 10 buy ratings, 6 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

  • Amount of Analyst Coverage

    Merck & Co., Inc. has been the subject of 13 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

  • Read more about Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock forecast and price target.
  • Earnings Growth

    Earnings for Merck & Co., Inc. are expected to grow by 21.99% in the coming year, from $7.73 to $9.43 per share.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

    The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 20.94, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 127.63.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

    The P/E ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 20.94, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 101.15.

  • Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

    Merck & Co., Inc. has a PEG Ratio of 1.39. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

  • Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

    Merck & Co., Inc. has a P/B Ratio of 5.67. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

  • Read more about Merck & Co., Inc.'s valuation and earnings.
  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    1.04% of the outstanding shares of Merck & Co., Inc. have been sold short.
  • Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

    Merck & Co., Inc. has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in Merck & Co., Inc. has recently increased by 0.73%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.
  • Dividend Yield

    Merck & Co., Inc. pays a meaningful dividend of 3.19%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

  • Dividend Growth

    Merck & Co., Inc. has been increasing its dividend for 13 years.

  • Dividend Coverage

    The dividend payout ratio of Merck & Co., Inc. is 64.57%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

  • Dividend Sustainability

    Based on earnings estimates, Merck & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 32.66% next year. This indicates that Merck & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

  • Read more about Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend.
  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    1.04% of the outstanding shares of Merck & Co., Inc. have been sold short.
  • Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

    Merck & Co., Inc. has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in Merck & Co., Inc. has recently increased by 0.73%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.
  • News Sentiment

    Merck & Co., Inc. has a news sentiment score of 1.16. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.46 average news sentiment score of Medical companies.
  • News Coverage This Week

    MarketBeat has tracked 84 news articles for Merck & Co., Inc. this week, compared to 21 articles on an average week.
  • Search Interest

    167 people have searched for MRK on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 80% compared to the previous 30 days.
  • MarketBeat Follows

    198 people have added Merck & Co., Inc. to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 560% compared to the previous 30 days.
  • Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

    In the past three months, Merck & Co., Inc. insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

  • Percentage Held by Insiders

    Only 0.09% of the stock of Merck & Co., Inc. is held by insiders.

  • Percentage Held by Institutions

    76.07% of the stock of Merck & Co., Inc. is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

  • Read more about Merck & Co., Inc.'s insider trading history.
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MRK Stock News Headlines

Financial markets news icon
MarketBeat Week in Review – 11/4 - 11/8 (MRK)
Markets rallied strongly this week on clarity about the election and an expected rate cut, but next week's inflation readings will determine if momentum lasts
Close-Up Photo of an Electronics Factory Worker in White Work Coat Soldering a Printed Circuit Board Through a Digital Microscope
Merck vs. Bristol-Myers: Analyst Views Differ After Q3 Earnings (MRK)
After strong earnings reports, Merck may be a better choice than Bristol-Meyers in the short term - but both may present a challenge for buy-and-hold investors.
JD Vance Predicts: Wall Street vs. Trump & Your Money
Trump's back in the White House, but Wall Street is pissed. Here's the deal: Wall Street's about to purposely crash the bond market to sabotage Trump's comeback.
Scientist working with blood samples - stock image
Summit Therapeutics: Is Their Lung Cancer Drug a Game Changer? (MRK)
Summit Therapeutics Inc. aims to advance Ivonescimab, a potential breakthrough for NSCLC. The FDA's Fast Track designation boosts its U.S. clinical pathway.
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Jefferies London Healthcare Conference
See More Headlines

MRK Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock was trading at $109.02 at the beginning of 2024. Since then, MRK stock has decreased by 8.4% and is now trading at $99.86.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here
.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) posted its earnings results on Thursday, October, 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript
.

Merck & Co., Inc.'s top institutional shareholders include State Street Corp (4.71%), Wellington Management Group LLP (3.00%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.34%) and FMR LLC (1.96%). Insiders that own company stock include Kenneth C Frazier, Robert M Davis, Richard R Deluca, Rita A Karachun, Steven Mizell, Joseph Romanelli, Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen and Sanat Chattopadhyay.
View institutional ownership trends
.

Shares of MRK stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Merck & Co., Inc. investors own include Chevron (CVX), Salesforce (CRM), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Comcast (CMCSA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), AbbVie (ABBV) and Home Depot (HD).

Company Calendar

Ex-Dividend for 10/7 Dividend
9/16/2024
Dividend Payable
10/07/2024
Last Earnings
10/31/2024
Today
11/21/2024
Ex-Dividend for 1/8 Dividend
12/16/2024
Fiscal Year End
12/31/2024
Dividend Payable
1/08/2025
Next Earnings (Estimated)
2/06/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Sector
Medical
Industry
Pharmaceutical preparations
Sub-Industry
Pharmaceuticals
CUSIP
58933Y10
Employees
72,000
Year Founded
1891

Price Target and Rating

Average Stock Price Target
$130.86
High Stock Price Target
$155.00
Low Stock Price Target
$104.00
Potential Upside/Downside
+32.5%
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy
Rating Score (0-4)
2.68
Research Coverage
19 Analysts

Profitability

Net Income
$365 million
Pretax Margin
21.72%

Debt

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales
$60.12 billion
Cash Flow
$3.11 per share
Book Value
$17.61 per share

Miscellaneous

Outstanding Shares
2,529,640,000
Free Float
2,527,358,000
Market Cap
$249.75 billion
Optionable
Optionable
Beta
0.40

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This page (NYSE:MRK) was last updated on 11/21/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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