Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

MKKGY has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC raised Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Merck KGaA in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Merck KGaA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Merck KGaA Stock Performance

OTCMKTS:MKKGY opened at $33.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.98. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.21. Merck KGaA has a 12 month low of $23.73 and a 12 month high of $34.19.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.14. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 11.20%.The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. Research analysts forecast that Merck KGaA will post 1.91 earnings per share 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.