The stock of Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) decreased by -$1.28 on Monday to finish at $108.93, down -1.16 percent. The last five days have seen an average of 6,455,360 shares of common stock traded. 10 times new highs were reached in the current year, with a fall of -$2.02. The average number of shares traded over the last 20 days was 7,064,310, while the average volume over the last 50 days totaled 7,589,194.
MRK stock appreciated 2.44% since last month. On 08/07/23, the company’s shares reached a one-month low of $104.42. The stock touched a high of $119.65 on 05/03/23, after rallying from a low of $84.52 in 52 weeks. The price of MRK stock has declined by -1.82% or -$2.02 this year, reaching a new high 10 times. Still, the stock price is down -8.96% from the 52-week high.
Insider Transactions
MRK stock investors should be aware that Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 15 days ago on Aug 14. On Aug 14, EVP, Chief HR Officer MIZELL STEVEN sold 4,250 shares at $109.01 each. This transaction resulted in the insider making $463,292. On Aug 03, MIZELL STEVEN sold 4,500 shares at a price of US$105.49. After the transaction, the insider now owns 27,185 shares. President, Human Health Int?l Romanelli Joseph had earlier sold 59 shares on Aug 02 for $107.37 a share. The transaction was completed for $6,335.
Valuation Metrics
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) has a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 89.36. Beta for the stock is 0.33. There are also a few other valuation ratios worth considering, including the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 4.71, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 7.15, and the price-to-cash flow ratio of 25.35.
Company paid $0.73 per share in dividends, remained unchanged from $0.73 last year.
Financial Health
For the three months ended June 29, Merck & Co. Inc.’s quick ratio was 1.00, while its current ratio was 1.30, indicating its ability to pay off its debt. The company’s long-term debt to equity ratio for the quarter ending June 29 is 0.88, and the total debt to equity ratio is 0.95. As far as profitability goes, gross margin for the trailing twelve months is 73.20% percent. Merck & Co. Inc.’s EBITDA margin for the year ended June 29 was 40.04%, whereas its operating margin stood at 11.30% for the same period. Based on annual data, it had gross profit of $41.87 billion and revenue of $59.28 billion.
Investors will also look at the performance of the company’s management in order to determine the potential profitability of their investment. MRK’s return on assets (ROA) during the last 12 months has been 2.90%. There was a 20.90% return on investment (ROI) in the past year. In the meantime, the return on equity (ROE) for the last 12 months was 7.10%.
Earnings Surprise
According to Merck & Co. Inc.’s quarterly financial report for the quarter that ended June 29. A higher net income was reported in the quarter under review than the previous quarter. Net income for the quarter came in at $15.04 billion, while revenues rose by 2.94% to $14.49 billion. It was predicted that Merck & Co. Inc.’s quarterly earnings would be -$1.91, but it ended up being -$2.02, beating the consensus by 5.40%. EBITDA was -$4.11 billion for the quarter. At the end of Merck & Co. Inc.’s most recent quarter ended June 29, its liabilities totaled 65.73 billion, while its total debt was $36.91 billion. Equity owned by shareholders amounts to $2.54 billion.
Technical Picture
Here’s a quick look at Merck & Co. Inc.’s (MRK) price momentum from a technical perspective. As of 28 August, the RSI 9-day stood at 51.68%, suggesting the stock is Neutral, with a 25.77% historical volatility rate.
The stochastic %K and %D were 63.98% and 69.89% respectively, while the average true range (ATR) was 2.05. Based on the 14-day stochastic reading of 53.18%, the RSI (14) reading is 51.58%. On the 9-day MACD Oscillator, the stock is at 0.24, and the 14-day reading is at 0.94.
Analyst Ratings
In its analyst report released on July 14, 2023, HSBC Securities began covering Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK). The stock was rated as a Hold by the brokerage firm. Analysts have assigned Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) an Overweight rating. MRK is a stock that is recommended for selling by 0 brokerage firms, while 8 companies recommend holding. The stock is underweighted by 0 analysts. Among the analysts who rate the stock, 4 rates it overweight and 17 others recommend it as a buy.
What is MRK’s price target for the next 12 months?
The current consensus forecast for the stock is between $103.00 and $135.00, with a median target price of $126.00. In analyzing these forecasts, the average price target given by analysts for Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) is $124.18.
