Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Barclays

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 26th, 2026

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Barclays from $150.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.01% from the company’s current price.

MRK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Daiwa Securities Group raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.12.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of MRK stock traded down $3.55 on Monday, hitting $141.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,275,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,620,148. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.01 and a 52-week high of $156.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $349.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.32, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $146.98 and its 200-day moving average is $130.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $16.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.660-2.760 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard Deluca sold 11,699 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.63, for a total transaction of $1,539,939.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,501,282.21. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,942,755. This represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,238 shares of company stock valued at $29,977,783 over 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 added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Blume Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.4% during the third quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.0% during the third quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 2,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $1,741,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 142,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,776,000 after purchasing an additional 46,936 shares during the period. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.