Fulcrum Asset Management LLP Acquires 17,924 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 148.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,036 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,924 shares during the quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the second quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,942,755. This represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,014 shares of company stock worth $13,608,779. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck reported positive Phase 2b results for efinopegdutide, an investigational weekly treatment for adults with MASH and stage F2 or F3 liver fibrosis. The findings add a potential new opportunity in liver disease, although the supplied report does not include detailed efficacy results. Article: Merck Announces Positive Results from Phase 2b Trial of Efinopegdutide
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has started the Phase 3 ENHANCE-3 trial of OHTUVAYRE for COPD maintenance treatment. Separately, the FDA granted priority review to sacituzumab tirumotecan for endometrial cancer, advancing two potential growth drivers. Article: Merck Starts ENHANCE 3 COPD Trial As Cancer Drug Review Nears
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s collaboration with Tempus AI is expected to contribute to a five-year partnership value of roughly $192.5 million, providing a data and AI-related research tie-up; the article does not detail the financial impact to Merck. Article: The AI Debt Bill Is Coming Due, But Biotech Has Revenue to Show for the Boom
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts describe Merck’s 2027 growth outlook as challenging, citing generic competition, weaker vaccine performance and slowing growth for Keytruda. These pressures could weigh on near-term results, despite the company’s expanding pipeline. Article: MRK’s 2027 Outlook Challenging, Long-Term Prospects Promising

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. DZ Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE MRK opened at $148.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.34 billion, a PE ratio of 153.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $146.39 and its 200 day moving average is $127.82. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.80 and a twelve month high of $156.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine.

Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.