Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Price Up 1.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Posted by Joseph Griffin on Jan 21st, 2026

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report)’s stock price shot up 1.5% on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $120.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Merck & Co., Inc. traded as high as $111.97 and last traded at $111.09. 12,832,522 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 13,433,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.45.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.20.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

Positive Sentiment: Five?year Phase 2b data from Moderna and Merck show the personalized mRNA vaccine (intismeran) plus KEYTRUDA cut recurrence or death risk by ~49% in high?risk melanoma — bolsters Merck’s oncology franchise and the long?term upside for Keytruda combinations. Moderna, Merck’s skin cancer vaccine shows sustained benefit after five years
Positive Sentiment: Merck partnered with CEPI on a $30M program to develop an updated, more affordable Ebola vaccine for low? and middle?income countries — improves access, reputational/ESG profile and potential incremental vaccine market share. Merck partners with global health coalition to develop affordable Ebola vaccine
Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is improving: TD Cowen raised its price target to $120 (from $100, hold) and other outlets note upgrades/positive coverage, signaling modest analyst confidence in MRK’s outlook. Benzinga: TD Cowen price target raise
Neutral Sentiment: Stock appears on some dividend/value roundups (e.g., Dogs of the Dow lists), which can attract income?focused buyers but are not company?specific catalysts. The Dogs of the Dow: 10 Downtrodden Dividends Paying Out Up to 6.8%
Negative Sentiment: Zacks highlights persistent weakness in Gardasil sales in China and Japan, which could pressure near?term revenue and weigh on quarterly results despite pipeline wins. Will Weak Gardasil Sales Continue to Ail MRK Revenues in Q4 Earnings?

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 170,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,189 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 5,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,158,000. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 77,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Master S Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $275.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Get Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.