Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) to “Hold”

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Down 4.5%

OTCMKTS:MKKGY opened at $23.76 on Thursday. Merck KGaA has a one year low of $23.76 and a one year high of $31.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.58.

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