Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK)’s stock price has dropped by -0.05 in relation to previous closing price of 117.23. Nevertheless, the company has seen a gain of 1.13% in its stock price over the last five trading days. zacks.com reported 2024-09-20 that Declining estimates and the recent price drop make investors skeptical about holding MRK stock.
Is It Worth Investing in Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) Right Now?
The price-to-earnings ratio for Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) is above average at 21.72x, Company’s 36-month beta value is 0.40.Analysts have differing opinions on the stock, with 7 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 4 as “overweight,” 10 as “hold,” and 0 as “sell.”
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The public float for MRK is 2.53B, and currently, short sellers hold a 1.02% ratio of that floaft. The average trading volume of MRK on September 23, 2024 was 9.87M shares.
MRK’s Market Performance
MRK stock saw an increase of 1.13% in the past week, with a monthly gain of 0.98% and a quarterly increase of -10.37%. The volatility ratio for the week is 1.63%, and the volatility levels for the last 30 days are 1.78% for Merck & Co Inc (MRK). The simple moving average for the past 20 days is 0.29% for MRK’s stock, with a -4.16% simple moving average for the past 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of MRK
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for MRK stocks, with Societe Generale repeating the rating for MRK by listing it as a “Sell.” The predicted price for MRK in the upcoming period, according to Societe Generale is $104 based on the research report published on March 11, 2024 of the current year 2024.
TD Cowen, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see MRK reach a price target of $135, previously predicting the price at $125. The rating they have provided for MRK stocks is “Outperform” according to the report published on January 04th, 2024.
Deutsche Bank gave a rating of “Buy” to MRK, setting the target price at $115 in the report published on November 09th of the previous year.
MRK Trading at -0.93% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought MRK to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -12.97% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 1.78%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 1.63%, as shares surge +0.53% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -9.15% lower at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, MRK rose by +1.13%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by +11.53% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $116.87. In addition, Merck & Co Inc saw 7.48% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further gains.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at MRK starting from Merck & Co., Inc., who purchase 21,397,205 shares at the price of $23.00 back on Mar 11 ’24. After this action, Merck & Co., Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of Merck & Co Inc, valued at $492,135,715 using the latest closing price.
Litchfield Caroline, the EVP & CFO of Merck & Co Inc, sale 38,291 shares at $125.50 during a trade that took place back on Feb 14 ’24, which means that Litchfield Caroline is holding 50,908 shares at $4,805,520 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for MRK
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.27 for the present operating margin
- 0.74 for the gross margin
The net margin for Merck & Co Inc stands at 0.22. The total capital return value is set at 0.2. Equity return is now at value 33.39, with 12.65 for asset returns.
Based on Merck & Co Inc (MRK), the company’s capital structure generated 0.46 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 0.44. The debt to equity ratio resting at 0.87. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 13.76.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 7.54 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 1.25. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 5.17. The receivables turnover for the company is 5.04for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.56. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 1.47.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Merck & Co Inc (MRK) has experienced a better performance in recent times. The stock has received mixed “buy” and “hold” ratings from analysts. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
