Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $113.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 17.29% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on MRK. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded down $1.58 on Tuesday, hitting $96.34. 3,231,652 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,993,121. The business’s fifty day moving average is $99.95 and its 200 day moving average is $109.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 51,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 6,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 26,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,584,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,922,000 after purchasing an additional 634,194 shares during the period. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.