Scotiabank Raises Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target to $155.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $136.00 to $155.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $2.47 on Tuesday, reaching $126.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,278,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,118,014. The company has a market capitalization of $313.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,543,000 after buying an additional 28,635 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.