Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $30.4260, but opened at $32.21. Merck KGaA shares last traded at $32.0375, with a volume of 1,768 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKKGY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Merck KGaA in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Trading Down 3.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.93 billion. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 12.07%. Equities analysts predict that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, commonly referred to as Merck Group, is a multinational science and technology company with origins dating back to 1668. The company develops and manufactures products and technologies across healthcare, life science and electronics applications. It is distinct from the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co; Merck KGaA is a European group headquartered in Darmstadt and is publicly listed in Germany with an OTC American depositary receipt available under the symbol MKKGY.

Merck’s Healthcare business develops prescription medicines and related services focused on areas such as oncology, immunology, neurology (including therapies for multiple sclerosis) and fertility.