5,124 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by CoreCap Advisors LLC

Posted by Geri Gentry on Oct 8th, 2026

CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 8.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,609 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,124 shares during the quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $27,000. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $30,000. Graney & King LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 400.0% in the second quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved the combination of Merck’s WELIREG and LENVIMA for adults with advanced renal cell carcinoma previously treated with PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. The approval expands Merck’s oncology portfolio and could create additional revenue opportunities. Merck also started a first-in-human Phase I trial using Cyprumed’s oral peptide-delivery platform, adding a new pipeline initiative. Merck Wins FDA Approval for WELIREG Plus LENVIMA in Kidney Cancer
Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained an “overweight” rating and a $177 price target despite trimming its target from $179, implying substantial potential upside based on the referenced price. Cantor Fitzgerald also raised its target to $145, although it retained a neutral rating. Analyst Price Target Updates
Neutral Sentiment: Value-focused coverage comparing Merck with Innoviva highlights the investment trade-off between Merck’s scale and established products and concerns about valuation and future growth. INVA vs. MRK: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
Negative Sentiment: A Dutch court issued an injunction blocking Merck from selling subcutaneous Keytruda in eight European markets following Halozyme’s patent dispute. The ruling could delay or restrict commercialization of the newer formulation and increases legal and competitive risk around Merck’s most important product. Merck’s Keytruda Is Dealt a Legal Setback
Negative Sentiment: Industry coverage identifies Merck as particularly exposed to near-term generic competition as major patents expire. That patent-cliff risk may weigh on longer-term growth expectations, especially given Keytruda’s importance to the company. Pharma’s $500B Patent Problem Will Come in Waves

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.32.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David R. Maraldo sold 18,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $2,407,836.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,248.64. This trade represents a 50.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 228,238 shares of company stock worth $29,977,783. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $142.45. 8,404,711 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,662,183. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.45 billion, a PE ratio of 113.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.01 and a 52-week high of $156.92.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 272.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal-health products. The company serves patients, healthcare providers, and customers in markets around the world, with research and commercial operations spanning multiple geographic regions.

Its pharmaceutical portfolio includes oncology, infectious-disease, cardiovascular, immunology, and other therapeutic areas. Key products include Keytruda, an oncology treatment; Gardasil, a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; Januvia and Janumet for type 2 diabetes; Bridion for anesthesia-related use; and Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension.