Guggenheim Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective lowered by Guggenheim from $122.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 36.34% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $213.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.82 and a 200-day moving average of $105.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 7,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,525,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.