Equities Analysts Set Expectations for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs upped their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report issued on Friday, April 19th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch now forecasts that the company will earn $2.38 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.32. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $8.59 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.37 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.70 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.37 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.38 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.49 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.37 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.62 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.92 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $10.65 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $11.65 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MRK. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $126.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $321.54 billion, a PE ratio of 906.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.51.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.