<div id="readability-page-1"><p><span>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report)</span> was upgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>2 Reasons Absci Could Be the Future of AI Biotech, and 1 Risk</li></ul><p>A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo &amp; Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck &amp; Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned  a Buy rating, eleven have assigned  a Hold rating and one  has issued  a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck &amp; Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus target price of $104.50.</p><p><b>Read Our Latest Research Report on Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</b></p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%</h2><ul><li>5 Healthcare Plays Powering the Sector’s Big Comeback</li></ul><p>NYSE:MRK opened at $92.99 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $85.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. </p><p>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share.  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Research analysts predict that  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Insiders Place Their Bets</h2><ul><li>As the Market Rotates, This Healthcare ETF Is Leading the Way</li></ul><p>In other Merck &amp; Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own  0.09% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Institutional Trading of Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</h2><p>Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period.  Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the period.  Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company's stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter.  DLD Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period.  Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. </p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Company Profile</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>Merck &amp; Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</li><li>Why Special Dividends Can be a Delightful Surprise for Income Investors</li><li>Monolithic Power Surges in 2025—Time to Buy or Hold?</li><li>The Top 3 Healthcare Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold</li><li>Tesla Has Been Trapped in a 10% Range for Months—What’s Going On?</li><li>What is a Secondary Public Offering? What Investors Need to Know</li><li>dLocal Falls Despite Blowout Q3 Results—What Investors Are Missing</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="330" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Merck &amp; Co., Inc., you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merck &amp; Co., Inc. wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Merck &amp; Co., Inc. currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Scotiabank upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) to a "strong-buy" rating. Other analysts have varied opinions, with some upgrading and others downgrading the stock. Merck's stock opened at $92.99, with a market cap of $230.80 billion. The company reported strong earnings, beating estimates, and has set FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Insiders and large investors are actively trading the stock.</p>

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Upgraded at Scotiabank