Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $33.8620 and last traded at $33.82, with a volume of 7749 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MKKGY shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Merck KGaA in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.51 and a 200-day moving average of $28.56. The company has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.93 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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.