Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Posted by George Bondi on Oct 21st, 2026

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Argus boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $151.92.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $148.19 on Monday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.67. The company has a market capitalization of $365.62 billion, a PE ratio of 118.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.01 and a twelve month high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $16.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 4.77%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm 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 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Williams sold 52,847 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.77, for a total transaction of $6,805,108.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,069.32. The trade was a 62.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Deluca sold 11,699 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total value of $1,539,939.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 110,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,501,282.21. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $30,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 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. Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Positive Sentiment: Merck’s newer cancer treatments and encouraging Phase 3 melanoma results may help broaden its oncology franchise and reduce reliance on Keytruda. Investors are assessing whether these products can become meaningful growth drivers before Keytruda faces patent-related competition. How Investors Are Reacting To Merck Phase 3 Melanoma Results
Positive Sentiment: The company’s diversified drug portfolio, research investments and dividend—approximately a 2.4% yield—provide support for investors seeking income while waiting for newer therapies to offset future Keytruda pressure. Merck also previously raised its 2026 sales outlook. Merck’s 2.4% Dividend Yield
Neutral Sentiment: Merck KGaA agreed to acquire Silence Therapeutics for approximately $1.3 billion in cash, including $20 per American depositary share. The deal could strengthen the German company’s pipeline, but Merck KGaA is a separate company from U.S.-listed Merck & Co. (MRK), so the transaction does not directly affect MRK’s earnings or stock.
Negative Sentiment: Keytruda’s concentration creates a significant patent-cliff risk. New treatments must scale rapidly enough to replace a large portion of sales and profits when competition arrives, adding uncertainty to Merck’s valuation and long-term growth outlook. Merck Has New Cancer Treatments
Negative Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds were reported as net sellers of MRK, indicating some short-term institutional or systematic selling pressure despite the company’s underlying growth initiatives. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Merck

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.