As of Thursday close, Merck & Co. Inc.’s (NYSE:MRK) stock was down -$1.23, moving down -1.12 percent to $108.98. The average number of shares traded per day over the past five days has been 5,769,000 shares. 3 times new highs have been achieved over the past 5 days, with a -$0.47 fall in that time frame. In the last twenty days, the average volume was 6,701,490, while in the previous 50 days, it was 7,373,728.
Since last month, MRK stock rose 3.10%. Shares of the company fell to $104.42 on 08/07/23, the lowest level in the past month. A 52-week high of $119.65 was reached on 05/03/23 after having rallying from a 52-week low of $84.52. Since the beginning of this year, MRK’s stock price has dropped by -1.78% or -$1.97, and marked a new high 10 times. However, the stock has declined by -8.92% since its 52-week high.
MRK stock investors should be aware that Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 18 days ago on Aug 14. MIZELL STEVEN, the EVP, Chief HR Officer of the company, disposed of 4,250 shares for $109.01 on Aug 14. It resulted in a $463,292 divestment by the insider. MIZELL STEVEN sold 4,500 shares at an average price of $105.49 on Aug 03. The insider now owns 27,185 shares following the transaction. On Aug 02, President, Human Health Int?l Romanelli Joseph sold 59 shares at $107.37 apiece. The transaction was valued at $6,335.
Valuation Metrics
Right now, Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) has a P/E ratio of about 89.40. The stock’s beta is 0.34. Besides these, 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 25.36 may also be considered.
The latest dividend of $0.73 per share was paid out, remained unchanged from last year’s $0.73.
Financial Health
In the three months ended June 29, Merck & Co. Inc.’s quick ratio stood at 1.00, while its current ratio was 1.30, showing that the company is able to pay off its debt. According to company report, the long-term debt-to-equity ratio for the quarter ending June 29 was 0.88, and the total debt-to-equity ratio was 0.95. On the profitability front, the trailing twelve-month gross margin is 73.20% percent. In the year ended June 29, EBITDA margin amounted to 40.04%, whereas operating margins totaled 11.30%. Based on annual data, MRK earned $41.87 billion in gross profit and brought in $59.28 billion in revenue.
A company’s management is another factor that investors consider when determining the profitability of an investment. In the past year, return on investment (ROI) was 20.90%. Return on equity (ROE) for the past 12 months was 7.10%.
In Merck & Co. Inc.’s quarter-end financial report for June 29, it reported total debt of $34.07 billion. According to the earnings report, the company had a higher net income in the recent quarter than it did in the previous quarter. MRK’s revenue rose 2.94% to $14.49 billion during the quarter, while net income inched up to $15.04 billion. While analysts expected Merck & Co. Inc. to report -$2.18 quarterly earnings, the actual figure was -$2.06 per share, beating the consensus estimate by 5.50%. During the quarter, the company generated -$4.11 billion in EBITDA. The liabilities of Merck & Co. Inc. were 65.73 billion at the end of its most recent quarter ended June 29, and its total debt was $36.91 billion. The value of shareholders’ equity is $2.54 billion.
Technical Picture
This quick technical analysis looks at Merck & Co. Inc.’s (MRK) price momentum. With a historical volatility rate of 26.91%, the RSI 9-day stood at 50.32% on 31 August.
With respect to its five-day moving average, the current Merck & Co. Inc. price is down by -0.43% percent or -$0.47. At present, MRK shares trade +3.07% above its 20-day simple moving average and -3.22% percent below its 100-day simple moving average. However, the stock is currently trading approximately -1.96% below its SMA50 and +11.25% above its SMA200.
Stochastic coefficient K was 59.34% and Stochastic coefficient D was 63.03%, while ATR was 1.87. Given the Stochastic reading of 36.93% for the 14-day period, the RSI (14) reading has been calculated as 50.97%. As of today, the MACD Oscillator reading stands at 0.18, while the 14-day reading stands at 0.42.
Analyst Ratings
HSBC Securities launched its rating on Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) to a Hold in a note to investors on July 14, 2023. Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) has been rated Overweight by analysts. According to 0 brokerage firms, MRK is a sell, and 8 firms recommend it is a Hold. There are 0 analysts who say the stock is underweight. A total of 4 analysts rate Merck & Co. Inc. stock as buy, with 17 recommending it as overweight.
With a median target price of $125.00, the current consensus forecast for the stock is $103.00 – $135.00. Based on these forecasts, analysts predict Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) will achieve an average price target of $124.09.
