The stock of Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) has decreased by -2.76 when compared to last closing price of 100.70.Despite this, the company has seen a loss of -1.34% in its stock price over the last five trading days. seekingalpha.com reported 2025-01-19 that Moderna’s recent stumbles make the company an acquisition target. Merck desperately needs Moderna’s mRNA-based Personal Cancer Vaccines (“PCVs”) to extend KEYTRUDA’s patent protection beyond 2028. Merck stands to lose $62 billion over four years following the loss of exclusivity on KEYTRUDA, making Moderna’s $13 billion market cap a bargain.
Is It Worth Investing in Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) Right Now?
The price-to-earnings ratio for Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) is 20.51x, which is above its average ratio. Moreover, the 36-month beta value for MRK is 0.40. Analysts have varying opinions on the stock, with 16 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 5 as “overweight,” 8 as “hold,” and 0 as “sell.”
The public float for MRK is 2.53B and currently, short sellers hold a 1.22% of that float. On January 20, 2025, MRK’s average trading volume was 11.12M shares.
MRK’s Market Performance
MRK’s stock has seen a -1.34% decrease for the week, with a -2.14% drop in the past month and a -11.32% fall in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 1.89%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 1.76% for Merck & Co Inc. The simple moving average for the past 20 days is -1.57% for MRK’s stock, with a -15.41% simple moving average for the past 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of MRK
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for MRK stocks, with Truist repeating the rating for MRK by listing it as a “Hold.” The predicted price for MRK in the upcoming period, according to Truist is $110 based on the research report published on January 08, 2025 of the current year 2025.
BMO Capital Markets, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see MRK reach a price target of $105, previously predicting the price at $136. The rating they have provided for MRK stocks is “Market Perform” according to the report published on December 20th, 2024.
BofA Securities gave a rating of “Buy” to MRK, setting the target price at $121 in the report published on December 10th of the previous year.
MRK Trading at -2.16% 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 -27.27% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 1.76%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 1.89%, as shares sank -2.14% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -3.88% lower at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, MRK fell by -1.34%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by -24.88% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $99.48. In addition, Merck & Co Inc saw -1.57% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further losses.
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:
- 0.24 for the present operating margin
- 0.75 for the gross margin
The net margin for Merck & Co Inc stands at 0.19. The total capital return value is set at 0.17. Equity return is now at value 28.33, with 10.83 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 0.48. The debt to equity ratio resting at 0.86. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 11.87.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 6.91 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 1.23. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 4.29. The receivables turnover for the company is 5.55for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.54. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 1.36.
Conclusion
To wrap up, the performance of Merck & Co Inc (MRK) has been bad in recent times. The stock has received a mixed of “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.
