Merck & Co Inc [NYSE: MRK] loss -0.33% or -0.42 points to close at $127.37 with a heavy trading volume of 6947278 shares. The company report on February 20, 2024 at 6:45 AM that FDA Grants Priority Review to Merck’s Application for KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Chemotherapy as Treatment for Primary Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Carcinoma.
Acceptance based on results from the pivotal Phase 3 NRG-GY018 trial.
Results showed KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival versus chemotherapy in these patients, regardless of mismatch repair status.
The daily chart for MRK points out that the company has recorded 16.64% gains over the past six months.
If we look at the average trading volume of 8.50M shares, MRK reached to a volume of 6947278 in the most recent trading day, which is why market watchdogs consider the stock to be active.
Here is what top equities market gurus are saying about Merck & Co Inc [MRK]:
Based on careful and fact-backed analyses by Wall Street experts, the current consensus on the target price for MRK shares is $136.08 per share. Analysis on target price and performance of stocks is usually carefully studied by market experts, and the current Wall Street consensus on MRK stock is a recommendation set at 1.54. This rating represents a strong Buy recommendation, on the scale from 1 to 5, where 5 would mean strong sell, 4 represents Sell, 3 is Hold, and 2 indicates Buy.
TD Cowen have made an estimate for Merck & Co Inc shares, keeping their opinion on the stock as Outperform, with their previous recommendation back on January 04, 2024. While these analysts kept the previous recommendation, Deutsche Bank raised their target price to Buy. The new note on the price target was released on November 09, 2023, representing the official price target for Merck & Co Inc stock. Previously, the target price had yet another raise to $132, while BMO Capital Markets analysts kept a Outperform rating on MRK stock. On October 20, 2023, analysts increased their price target for MRK shares from 117 to 122.
The Average True Range (ATR) for Merck & Co Inc is set at 1.79, with the Price to Sales ratio for MRK stock in the period of the last 12 months amounting to 5.35. The Price to Book ratio for the last quarter was 7.83, with the Price to Cash per share for the same quarter was set at 3.48. Price to Free Cash Flow for MRK in the course of the last twelve months was 24.51 with Quick ratio for the last quarter at 1.12.
Trading performance analysis for MRK stock
Merck & Co Inc [MRK] gain into the green zone at the end of the last week, gaining into a positive trend and gaining by 1.62. With this latest performance, MRK shares gained by 7.13% in over the last four-week period, additionally plugging by 16.64% over the last 6 months – not to mention a rise of 19.59% in the past year of trading.
Overbought and oversold stocks can be easily traced with the Relative Strength Index (RSI), where an RSI result of over 70 would be overbought, and any rate below 30 would indicate oversold conditions. An RSI rate of 50 would represent a neutral market momentum. The current RSI for MRK stock in for the last two-week period is set at 73.31, with the RSI for the last a single of trading hit 71.61, and the three-weeks RSI is set at 73.36 for Merck & Co Inc [MRK]. The present Moving Average for the last 50 days of trading for this stock 116.69, while it was recorded at 126.59 for the last single week of trading, and 109.95 for the last 200 days.
Merck & Co Inc [MRK]: A deeper dive into fundamental analysis
Merck & Co Inc’s liquidity data is similarly interesting compelling, with a Quick Ratio of 1.12 and a Current Ratio set at 1.38.
Merck & Co Inc [MRK]: An earnings per share (EPS) analysis
With the latest financial reports released by the company, Merck & Co Inc posted 1.4/share EPS, while the average EPS was predicted by analysts to be reported at 1.32/share. When compared, the two values demonstrate that the company surpassed the estimates by a Surprise Factor of 6.10%. The progress of the company may be observed through the prism of EPS growth rate, while Wall Street analysts are focusing on predicting the 5-year EPS growth rate for MRK. When it comes to the mentioned value, analysts are expecting to see the 5-year EPS growth rate for Merck & Co Inc go to 67.41%.
An analysis of Institutional ownership at Merck & Co Inc [MRK]
The top three institutional holders of MRK stocks are: VANGUARD GROUP INC with ownership of 1.3 billion shares, which is approximately 8.2815%. BLACKROCK INC., holding 1.03 billion shares of the stock with an approximate value of $176.59 billion in MRK stocks shares; and BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC, currently with $156.75 billion in MRK stock with ownership which is approximately 5.8325%.
