Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation.

MKKGY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Merck KGaA in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group downgraded Merck KGaA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Merck KGaA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th.

Merck KGaA Stock Up 0.8%

Merck KGaA stock opened at $32.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Merck KGaA has a 1-year low of $23.73 and a 1-year high of $34.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.46. The company has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.98.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, commonly referred to as Merck Group, is a multinational science and technology company with origins dating back to 1668. The company develops and manufactures products and technologies across healthcare, life science and electronics applications. It is distinct from the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co; Merck KGaA is a European group headquartered in Darmstadt and is publicly listed in Germany with an OTC American depositary receipt available under the symbol MKKGY.

Merck’s Healthcare business develops prescription medicines and related services focused on areas such as oncology, immunology, neurology (including therapies for multiple sclerosis) and fertility.