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

$89.40 +1.72 (+1.96%)

Closing price 02/21/2025 03:59 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$89.30 -0.09 (-0.10%)

As of 02/21/2025 07:59 PM Eastern

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

Moderate Buy

Based on 24 Analyst Ratings

Sell
1

Hold
11

Buy
12

Based on 24 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 24 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 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

$116.39
30.20% Upside

According to the 24 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Merck & Co., Inc., the average price target is $116.39. 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 30.20% from the current price of $89.40.

Get the Latest News and Ratings for MRK and Related Stocks

Enter your email address to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. and its competitors.

MRK Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 2/23/24 to 2/22/25	1 Month Ago 1/24/24 to 1/23/25	3 Months Ago 11/25/23 to 11/24/24	1 Year Ago 2/23/23 to 2/23/24
Strong Buy	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	9 Buy rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)
Hold	11 Hold rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	6 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	$116.39	$123.00	$130.86	$129.83
Forecasted Upside	30.20% Upside	27.37% Upside	31.94% Upside	0.30% Upside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy

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	2.58	2.82	2.53
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	30.20% Upside	29,211.93% Upside	14.38% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent MRK News	Positive 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
2/18/2025	Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft 3 of 5 stars	James Shin Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold	$128.00 ➝ $105.00	+26.49%
2/12/2025	Guggenheim 2 of 5 stars	Vamil Divan Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$122.00 ➝ $115.00	+32.90%
2/10/2025	TD Securities 4 of 5 stars		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold	$121.00 ➝ $100.00	+15.45%
2/10/2025	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	S. Scala Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Buy ➝ Hold	$121.00 ➝ $100.00	+14.60%
2/5/2025	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Tim Anderson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$118.00 ➝ $112.00	+26.31%
2/5/2025	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	E. Seigerman Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Market Perform ➝ Market Perform	$105.00 ➝ $96.00	+7.95%
2/5/2025	Citigroup Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Andrew Baum Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$125.00 ➝ $115.00	+26.39%
2/5/2025	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Terence Flynn Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$113.00 ➝ $106.00	+16.50%
1/13/2025	Leerink Partners Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Daina Graybosch Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$136.00 ➝ $119.00	+19.31%
1/8/2025	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$125.00 ➝ $120.00	+21.14%
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.
1/8/2025	Truist Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Buy ➝ Hold	$130.00 ➝ $110.00	+8.88%
12/4/2024	Hsbc Global Res Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	R. Kumar Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Upgrade	Hold ➝ Strong-Buy
12/4/2024	HSBC Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Upgrade	Hold ➝ Buy	$130.00	+27.65%
11/15/2024	Wolfe Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	T. Anderson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Initiated Coverage	Peer Perform
11/11/2024	Daiwa America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	N. Nakagiri Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Strong-Buy ➝ Hold
11/11/2024	Daiwa Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Buy ➝ Neutral
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%
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%
10/7/2024	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%
7/30/2024	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%
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%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Saturday at 08:57 AM 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 Friday, February 21, 2025. 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 & Co., Inc.:

Merck & Co., Inc. has a strong portfolio of prescription medicines and vaccines, which positions it well in the growing healthcare market, particularly in the wake of increased global health awareness.
The company has been actively involved in developing biologic therapies, which are becoming increasingly important in treating complex diseases, potentially leading to significant revenue growth.
Merck & Co., Inc. has a robust pipeline of new products, including innovative vaccines and treatments, which could drive future sales and profitability.
The current stock price of Merck & Co., Inc. reflects a stable investment opportunity, with analysts noting its resilience in the pharmaceutical sector amidst market fluctuations.
With a history dating back to 1891, Merck & Co., Inc. has established a strong brand reputation and trust among healthcare providers and consumers, which can lead to sustained market share.

Merck & Co., Inc.
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Merck & Co., Inc. for these reasons:

Merck & Co., Inc. faces intense competition in the pharmaceutical industry, which can pressure profit margins and market share, particularly from generic drug manufacturers.
Regulatory challenges and the lengthy approval process for new drugs can delay product launches, impacting revenue growth and investor confidence.
Recent market volatility has raised concerns about the overall stability of the pharmaceutical sector, which could affect Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock performance.
Potential patent expirations on key products may lead to revenue declines as generic alternatives enter the market, posing a risk to future earnings.
Investors may be wary of the company's exposure to litigation risks associated with pharmaceutical products, which can lead to significant financial liabilities.

MRK Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 24 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. is $116.39, with a high forecast of $155.00 and a low forecast of $96.00.
: 24 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Merck & Co., Inc. in the last year. There is currently 1 sell rating, 11 hold ratings, 9 buy ratings and 3 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 30.20% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Over the previous 90 days, Merck & Co., Inc.'s stock had 4 downgrades and 2 upgrades by analysts.
: Merck & Co., Inc. has been rated by research analysts at Bank of America, BMO Capital Markets, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Guggenheim, Hsbc Global Res, HSBC, Leerink Partners, Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, TD Securities, Truist Financial, and UBS Group in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Merck & Co., Inc. less than other "medical" companies. The consensus rating score for Merck & Co., Inc. is 2.58 while the average consensus rating score for "medical" companies is 2.82. Learn more on how MRK compares to other companies.

Stock Forecasts and Research Tools

Related Companies

Today's Ratings

Top-Rated Stocks

More Ratings Tools

This page (NYSE:MRK) was last updated on 2/22/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff

From Our Partners

Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free

Start Your 30-Day Trial

In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies.
Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more.
Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter.

Sign In
Create Account

Your Email Address:

Your Password:

Forgot your password?

Your Email Address:

Choose a Password:

By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

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