FY2025 EPS Estimate for Merck & Co., Inc. Boosted by Analyst

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – Leerink Partnrs lifted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Monday, November 10th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Graybosch now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $9.07 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $8.79. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.’s current full-year earnings is $9.01 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.’s Q1 2026 earnings at $2.08 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.06 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.13 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $90.91 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $225.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during 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 during the period. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,889,340,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.