Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Raised to $140.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $135.00 to $140.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 13.10% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on MRK. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Bank of America increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $123.78. 1,509,428 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,999,076. The company has a market cap of $305.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. High Note Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.