Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.32 and last traded at $24.80, with a volume of 5144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MKKGY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Down 4.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.19). Merck KGaA had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 12.31%.The company had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

About Merck KGaA

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.