Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Given New $155.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jun 30th, 2026

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at Scotiabank from $136.00 to $155.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.13% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. CICC Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.67.

Read Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $2.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $126.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,278,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,118,014. The company has a market capitalization of $313.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.35 and its 200 day moving average is $114.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $130.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after acquiring an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,543,000 after acquiring an additional 28,635 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.