Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 286,679 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 175% from the previous session’s volume of 104,228 shares.The stock last traded at $25.04 and had previously closed at $24.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Merck KGaA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $16.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.19). Merck KGaA had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Merck KGaA Company Profile

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.