The stock price of Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) has surged by 0.53 when compared to previous closing price of 113.09, but the company has seen a -2.97% decline in its stock price over the last five trading sessions. fool.com reported 2024-09-29 that Merck’s Keytruda could face competition from a newer medicine. The company’s crown jewel will also lose patent exclusivity in a few years.
Is It Worth Investing in Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) Right Now?
Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) has a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07x that is above its average ratio. Additionally, the 36-month beta value for MRK is 0.40. There are mixed opinions on the stock, with 7 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 4 rating it as “overweight,” 10 rating it as “hold,” and 0 rating it as “sell.”
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The public float for MRK is 2.53B and currently, short sellers hold a 0.98% ratio of that float. The average trading volume of MRK on September 30, 2024 was 9.95M shares.
MRK’s Market Performance
The stock of Merck & Co Inc (MRK) has seen a -2.97% decrease in the past week, with a -3.16% drop in the past month, and a -8.17% fall in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 1.47%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 1.83% for MRK. The simple moving average for the last 20 days is -2.37% for MRK stock, with a simple moving average of -7.20% for the last 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 -2.88% 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 -15.55% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 1.83%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 1.47%, as shares sank -3.21% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -8.50% lower at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, MRK fell by -2.97%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by +8.93% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $116.26. In addition, Merck & Co Inc saw 4.28% 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 5.03. 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 conclusion, Merck & Co Inc (MRK) has seen mixed performance in recent times. Analysts have a bullish opinion on the stock, with some rating it as a “buy” and others rating it as a “hold”. 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.
