Atlantic Securities Boosts Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target to $127.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Atlantic Securities from $122.00 to $127.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Atlantic Securities’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.29% from the stock’s previous close.

MRK has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. SVB Leerink raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $108.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.05 and a fifty-two week high of $115.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Merck & Co, Inc 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.