Brokers Set Expectations for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q4 2025 Earnings (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs boosted their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, April 20th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.39 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.37. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $8.59 per share.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $126.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $321.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 906.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,108,366,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,487,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196,914 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,966,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,731,152 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 352.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 3,144,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,814,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29,914.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 2,410,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.