Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Posted by Max Byerly on Mar 1st, 2026

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MRK. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.88.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $123.45 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The firm has a market cap of $305.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.57% and a net margin of 28.08%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.000-5.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total value of $5,023,261.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,787,865.12. The trade was a 31.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 121,573 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.15, for a total value of $14,485,422.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,211,341.40. This represents a 63.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 320,176 shares of company stock worth $38,281,735 over the last 90 days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Positive Sentiment: Late?stage data: WELIREG® (belzutifan) + LENVIMA® (lenvatinib) cut risk of progression or death by ~30% vs cabozantinib in previously treated advanced renal cell carcinoma — strengthens Merck’s portfolio and potential label/market expansion for belzutifan combos. WELIREG® (belzutifan) Plus LENVIMA® (lenvatinib) Reduced the Risk of Disease Progression or Death by 30% Compared to Cabozantinib in Certain Previously Treated Patients With Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)
Positive Sentiment: Adjuvant benefit: KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) + WELIREG® showed a ~28% reduction in risk of recurrence or death vs KEYTRUDA alone in certain earlier?stage RCC patients — could broaden adjuvant use and support longer?term Keytruda revenue. KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus WELIREG® (belzutifan) Given as Adjuvant Therapy Reduced the Risk of Disease Recurrence or Death by 28% Compared to KEYTRUDA Monotherapy in Certain Patients With Earlier-Stage Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)
Positive Sentiment: KEYTRUDA combos show survival gains: Final KEYNOTE?B96 analysis reported significant overall survival improvement for KEYTRUDA + paclitaxel (± bevacizumab) in platinum?resistant recurrent ovarian cancer — strengthens case for additional approvals/uses. KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Paclitaxel With or Without Bevacizumab Significantly Improved Key Secondary Endpoint of Overall Survival (OS) Versus Paclitaxel With or Without Bevacizumab in Patients With Platinum-Resistant Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
Positive Sentiment: Neoadjuvant/adjuvant progress: KEYTRUDA + Padcev reduced event?free survival events by 47% and deaths by 35% in cisplatin?eligible muscle?invasive bladder cancer — another high?impact potential indication. KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Padcev® (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) Reduced Risk of Event-Free Survival Events by 47% and Risk of Death by 35% for Cisplatin-Eligible Patients with Muscle-Invasive-Bladder-Cancer When-Given Before-and-After Surgery
Positive Sentiment: Pipeline collaborations: Synthekine is testing its IL?2 candidate STK?012 with Keytruda and chemo in PD?L1 negative NSCLC — external partnerships expand combo opportunities for Keytruda. Synthekine Announces Clinical Trial Collaboration with Merck to Evaluate STK-012 In Combination with Keytruda® (Pembrolizumab) and Chemotherapy in Ongoing Randomized Phase 2 Trial in First-Line, PD-L1 Negative Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Positive Sentiment: Analyst/coverage support: Royal Bank of Canada began coverage and publicly said Merck could return to growth sooner than the market expects — can lift sentiment and estimates. RBC Capital Sees Merck (MRK) Returning to Growth Sooner Than Market Expects
Neutral Sentiment: Corporate restructure: Merck is reorganizing into Oncology and Specialty/Pharma & Infectious Diseases teams ahead of Keytruda’s patent cliff — strategic but execution and cost implications will determine investor reaction. Merck Reshapes Drug Business As Keytruda Era Nears Turning Point
Negative Sentiment: Gardasil sales weakness: Merck notified layoffs of ~150 workers at a US Gardasil manufacturing site amid sluggish Gardasil sales — signals vaccine revenue pressure even as cost cuts are implemented. Merck to lay off around 150 employees at US site amid slump in Gardasil sales
Negative Sentiment: Retail sentiment cooling: Coverage notes Reddit trader enthusiasm has faded recently — a minor headwind to retail?driven momentum but unlikely to change fundamentals. Merck Stock Jumps But Reddit Traders Are Getting Cold Feet

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.