Olympiad Research LP Buys New Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 282.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 30,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,000 after buying an additional 22,263 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the first quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 6,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the first quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 49,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,262,000 after acquiring an additional 8,397 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:MRK opened at $92.99 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.33. The firm has a market cap of $230.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.50.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.