Merck (MRK) Stock Slides, BMO Downgrades

BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck (MRK) stock to ‘market perform’ today.
By Rachel Aldrich ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Merck (MRK) - Get Report  are falling 1.19% to $58.92 this morning as BMO Capital Markets downgrades the company to "market perform" from "outperform."

BMO has a $62 price target on shares of the Kenilworth, NJ-based healthcare company.

The firm said that its positive views on Merck's fundamentals have not changed, but the market has "mostly caught up" to the company.

"The fundamentals have not improved to justify higher valuations," BMO said. It sees the risk and reward as balanced.

Merck will see significant price pressure in major markets including hepatitis-C in the near term and immune-oncology in the longer term as options increase, the firm added.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of B.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels, expanding profit margins and increase in stock price during the past year.

TheStreet Ratings feels its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: MRK

Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

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