Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) Upgraded to “Hold” at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MKKGY has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Merck KGaA in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Merck KGaA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck KGaA has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Merck KGaA Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS MKKGY opened at $31.98 on Monday. Merck KGaA has a 1 year low of $23.73 and a 1 year high of $34.19. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $30.14 and its 200 day moving average is $28.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.00.

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKKGY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.93 billion. Merck KGaA had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 8.79%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck KGaA will post 1.87 earnings per share 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.