Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MKKGY has been the topic of several other research reports. HSBC raised shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Merck KGaA in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck KGaA presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Merck KGaA stock opened at $31.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.97. Merck KGaA has a 1 year low of $23.73 and a 1 year high of $34.19.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 12.07%.The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck KGaA Company Profile

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, commonly referred to as Merck Group, is a multinational science and technology company with origins dating back to 1668. The company develops and manufactures products and technologies across healthcare, life science and electronics applications. It is distinct from the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co; Merck KGaA is a European group headquartered in Darmstadt and is publicly listed in Germany with an OTC American depositary receipt available under the symbol MKKGY.

Merck’s Healthcare business develops prescription medicines and related services focused on areas such as oncology, immunology, neurology (including therapies for multiple sclerosis) and fertility.