Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) is -4.39% lower on its value in year-to-date trading and has touched a low of $99.80 and a high of $134.63 in the current 52-week trading range. The question becomes, what are the chances the stock will make a comeback and enjoy potential growth. Why not look at analysts view on what the future holds for the stock. The MRK stock was last observed hovering at around $103.98 in the last trading session, with the day’s gains setting it 0.25%.
Currently trading at $104.23, the stock is -4.24% and -7.96% below its SMA20 and SMA50 respectively. However, with a daily trading volume of 6.97 million and changing 0.24% at the moment leaves the stock -14.84% off its SMA200. MRK registered -1.25% loss for a year compared to 6-month loss of -19.90%. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average (SMA 50) of $113.2392 and a 200-day simple moving average (SMA200) of $122.39435.
The stock witnessed a -8.32% gain in the last 1 month and extending the period to 3 months gives it a -9.56%, and is -1.98% down over the last 5 days. If we measure the stock’s price variations over the week and the month, we find that the volatility rates stand at 1.41% over the week and 1.58% over the month.
Merck & Co Inc (MRK) has around 72000 employees, a market worth around $264.20B and $62.19B in sales. Current P/E ratio is 19.32 and Fwd P/E is 10.78. Profit margin for the company is 22.09%. Distance from 52-week low is 4.44% and -22.58% from its 52-week high. The company has generated returns on investments over the last 12 months (17.54%).
with sales reaching $16.45B over the same period.The EPS is expected to grow by 413.22% this year, but quarterly earnings will post 6.60% year-over-year. Quarterly sales are estimated to grow 13.00% in year-over-year returns.
Merck & Co Inc (MRK) Top Institutional Holders
4376.0 institutions hold shares in Merck & Co Inc (MRK), with institutional investors hold 79.39% of the company’s shares. The shares outstanding are 2.53B, and float is at 2.53B with Short Float at 1.03%. Institutions hold 79.34% of the Float.
The top institutional shareholder in the company is VANGUARD GROUP INC with over 244.68 million shares valued at $30.29 billion. The investor’s holdings represent 9.6596% of the MRK Shares outstanding. As of 2024-06-30, the second largest holder is BLACKROCK INC. with 207.3 million shares valued at $25.66 billion to account for 8.1838 of the shares outstanding. The other top investors are STATE STREET CORP which holds 117.49 million shares representing 4.6384% and valued at over $14.63 billion, while WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP holds 2.8615 of the shares totaling 72.48 million with a market value of $8.97 billion.
Merck & Co Inc (MRK) Insider Activity
The most recent transaction is an insider purchase by Merck & Co., Inc., the company’s 10% Owner. SEC filings show that Merck & Co., Inc. bought 21,397,205 shares of the company’s common stock on Mar 11 ’24 at a price of $23.00 per share for a total of $492.14 million. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1000.0 shares.
Merck & Co Inc disclosed in a document filed with the SEC on Feb 14 ’24 that Litchfield Caroline (EVP & CFO) sold a total of 38,291 shares of the company’s common stock. The trade occurred on Feb 14 ’24 and was made at $125.50 per share for $4.81 million. Following the transaction, the insider now directly holds 50908.0 shares of the MRK stock.
Still, SEC filings show that on Feb 13 ’24, Davis Robert M (Chairman, CEO & President) disposed off 150,000 shares at an average price of $125.85 for $18.88 million. The insider now directly holds 348,327 shares of Merck & Co Inc (MRK).
