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

Merck & Co., Inc. logo
$89.18 +1.58 (+1.80%)
Closing price 03/28/2025 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$89.15 -0.03 (-0.03%)
As of 03/28/2025 07:55 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more.

Merck & Co., Inc. - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2025)

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

Sell
0
Hold
11
Buy
12

Based on 23 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 23 analysts, 11 have given a hold rating, 9 have given a buy rating, and 3 have given a strong buy rating for MRK.

Consensus Price Target

$117.12
31.33% Upside
According to the 23 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Merck & Co., Inc., the average price target is $117.12. The highest price target for MRK is $155.00, while the lowest price target for MRK is $96.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 31.33% from the current price of $89.18.
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MRK Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
3/30/24 to 3/30/25
1 Month Ago
2/29/24 to 2/28/25
3 Months Ago
12/31/23 to 12/30/24
1 Year Ago
3/31/23 to 3/30/24
Strong Buy
3 Strong Buy rating(s)
3 Strong Buy rating(s)
3 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
9 Buy rating(s)
9 Buy rating(s)
10 Buy rating(s)
10 Buy rating(s)
Hold
11 Hold rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
7 Hold rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
Sell
0 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$117.12$116.39$127.13$129.71
Forecasted Upside31.33% Upside26.19% Upside29.24% Upside-1.69% Downside
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.
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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.
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Merck & Co., Inc. Stock vs. The Competition

TypeMerck & Co., Inc.Medical CompaniesS&P 500
Consensus Rating Score
2.65
2.82
2.54
Consensus RatingModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate Buy
Predicted Upside31.33% Upside18,545.88% Upside19.88% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent MRK News
Positive News
Positive News
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DateBrokerageAnalyst NameActionRatingPrice TargetUpside/Downside on Report DateDetails
2/18/2025Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft
3 of 5 stars
James Shin
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DowngradeBuy ➝ Hold$128.00 ➝ $105.00+26.49%
2/12/2025Guggenheim
2 of 5 stars
Vamil Divan
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Lower TargetBuy ➝ Buy$122.00 ➝ $115.00+32.90%
2/10/2025TD Securities
4 of 5 stars
 DowngradeBuy ➝ Hold$121.00 ➝ $100.00+15.45%
2/10/2025TD Cowen
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S. Scala
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DowngradeBuy ➝ Hold$121.00 ➝ $100.00+14.60%
2/5/2025Bank of America
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Tim Anderson
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Lower TargetBuy ➝ Buy$118.00 ➝ $112.00+26.31%
2/5/2025BMO Capital Markets
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E. Seigerman
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Lower TargetMarket Perform ➝ Market Perform$105.00 ➝ $96.00+7.95%
2/5/2025Citigroup
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Andrew Baum
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Lower TargetBuy ➝ Buy$125.00 ➝ $115.00+26.39%
2/5/2025Morgan Stanley
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Terence Flynn
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Lower TargetEqual Weight ➝ Equal Weight$113.00 ➝ $106.00+16.50%
1/13/2025Leerink Partners
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Daina Graybosch
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Lower TargetOutperform ➝ Outperform$136.00 ➝ $119.00+19.31%
1/8/2025UBS Group
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 Lower TargetBuy ➝ Buy$125.00 ➝ $120.00+21.14%
1/8/2025Truist Financial
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 Reiterated RatingBuy ➝ Hold$130.00 ➝ $110.00+8.88%
12/4/2024Hsbc Global Res
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R. Kumar
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UpgradeHold ➝ Strong-Buy
12/4/2024HSBC
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 UpgradeHold ➝ Buy$130.00+27.65%
11/15/2024Wolfe Research
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T. Anderson
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Initiated CoveragePeer Perform
11/11/2024Daiwa America
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N. Nakagiri
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DowngradeStrong-Buy ➝ Hold
11/11/2024Daiwa Capital Markets
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 DowngradeBuy ➝ Neutral
11/1/2024Wells Fargo & Company
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 Lower TargetEqual Weight ➝ Equal Weight$125.00 ➝ $110.00+7.78%
10/17/2024Sanford C. Bernstein
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C. Breen
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Initiated CoverageMarket Perform$115.00+4.14%
10/7/2024Barclays
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 Lower TargetOverweight ➝ Overweight$142.00 ➝ $140.00+28.83%
10/3/2024Cantor Fitzgerald
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 Reiterated RatingOverweight ➝ Overweight$155.00 ➝ $155.00+39.53%
7/30/2024Evercore ISI
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U. Raffat
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UpgradeStrong-Buy
6/5/2024Argus
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J. Hellweg
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UpgradeStrong-Buy
4/8/2024Berenberg Bank
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 Boost TargetBuy ➝ Buy$140.00 ➝ $143.00+11.73%
3/11/2024Societe Generale
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 DowngradeHold ➝ Sell$104.00-15.33%
4/16/2023BTIG Research
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 DowngradeBuy ➝ Neutral
4/10/2023Mizuho
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Mara Goldstein
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Reiterated RatingBuy$130.00+15.44%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Sunday at 08:13 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 Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Please send any questions or comments about these Merck & Co., Inc. pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Merck & Co., Inc.
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

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

  • Merck has a strong market capitalization of approximately $233.39 billion, indicating a robust financial position and stability in the market.
  • The stock is currently trading at $92.39, which is relatively close to its 52-week low of $81.04, suggesting potential for price appreciation as it approaches its 52-week high of $134.63.
  • Recent institutional investments, including a new stake by Potentia Wealth valued at around $635,000, reflect growing confidence in Merck's future performance.
  • Merck has a favorable P/E ratio of 13.73, which is considered attractive compared to industry averages, indicating that the stock may be undervalued relative to its earnings.
  • Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $117.12, suggesting that there is room for growth in the stock price based on future performance expectations.

Merck & Co., Inc.
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

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

  • Recent downgrades from analysts, including a reduction in price targets by Morgan Stanley and others, indicate a cautious outlook on the stock's short-term performance.
  • Merck's stock has experienced a decline of 4.8% recently, which may signal underlying issues or market volatility that could affect investor confidence.
  • Insider selling activity, such as the sale of shares by Cristal N. Downing, may raise concerns about the company's future prospects from those closest to the business.
  • With 76.07% of the stock owned by institutional investors, there is a risk that large sell-offs by these entities could negatively impact the stock price.
  • The company's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, while manageable, indicates that Merck has a significant amount of debt, which could pose risks in times of economic downturns or rising interest rates.

MRK Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 23 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. is $117.12, with a high forecast of $155.00 and a low forecast of $96.00.

23 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. in the last year. There are currently 11 hold ratings, 9 buy ratings and 3 strong buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" MRK shares.

According to analysts, Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock has a predicted upside of 31.33% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock had 3 downgrades by analysts.

Analysts like Merck & Co., Inc. less than other "medical" companies. The consensus rating score for Merck & Co., Inc. is 2.65 while the average consensus rating score for "medical" companies is 2.82. Learn more on how MRK compares to other companies.


This page (NYSE:MRK) was last updated on 3/30/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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