Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Raised to $175.00

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 23rd, 2026

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) had its target price increased by UBS Group from $145.00 to $175.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MRK. Bank of America increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $142.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.10.

View Our Latest Research Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.3%

MRK stock opened at $152.43 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.58 and a 12-month high of $154.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $128.09 and its 200 day moving average is $121.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $376.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.94, a PEG ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%.The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 272.00%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,212 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,248.64. This represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 20,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total value of $2,710,857.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,569,312.29. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

Positive Sentiment: Merck and Moderna reported that their personalized cancer therapy met key Phase 3 goals, improving recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival for high-risk melanoma patients when added to Keytruda. The result is the first major late-stage win for an mRNA cancer vaccine and strengthens the potential for regulatory approval and broader oncology applications. MRK/MRNA’s Personalized Cancer Therapy Delivers First Phase III Win
Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised their outlooks for MRK: Goldman Sachs increased its price target to $160 and kept a Buy rating, while BMO raised its target to $170 and UBS lifted its target to $175. Morgan Stanley also upgraded the shares to Overweight with a $179 target after the cancer-trial success.
Positive Sentiment: Investors see Merck’s newer products, acquired assets and pipeline programs as a potential growth cushion against Keytruda’s eventual patent expiration. The company’s expanding portfolio could help diversify revenue beyond its flagship drug. Can Merck’s New Drugs Offer Growth Cushion Ahead of Keytruda LOE?
Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options activity indicates heightened investor interest and potential volatility, but it does not by itself establish the direction of the stock.
Negative Sentiment: RBC Capital Markets downgraded Merck to Sector Perform and set a $150 target, arguing that execution risks and the 2028 Keytruda loss of exclusivity are being underestimated. RBC said near-term catalysts are attractive, but the stock’s valuation leaves limited room for additional gains. Merck upgraded at Morgan Stanley after cancer trial win; RBC downgrades
Negative Sentiment: Jefferies separately moved Merck from Strong Buy to Hold. The central concern is that the shares have already rallied substantially on the trial news, making the current valuation appear demanding relative to the remaining patent and execution risks.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(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.