Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Short Interest Update

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,648 shares, a decline of 90.1% from the June 30th total of 97,736 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 82,218 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research raised Merck KGaA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Merck KGaA in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MKKGY stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.64. 41,656 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,502. Merck KGaA has a 1 year low of $23.73 and a 1 year high of $34.19. The stock has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $31.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.99.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.93 billion. Merck KGaA had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 8.79%. Research 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.