Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Merus by 63.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 102,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,633,000 after acquiring an additional 40,060 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Merus during the 1st quarter valued at about $555,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,714,000 after purchasing an additional 323,518 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merus by 90.6% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,848,000 after purchasing an additional 247,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter valued at $53,377,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Up 1.8 %

MRUS opened at $52.69 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.99 and its 200-day moving average is $50.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of -19.02 and a beta of 1.11. Merus has a twelve month low of $19.81 and a twelve month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. The business had revenue of $7.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.27 EPS for the current year.

Merus Company Profile

Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the development of antibody therapeutics in the Netherlands. Its bispecific antibody candidate pipeline includes Zenocutuzumab (MCLA-128), which is in a phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer, as well as in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors that harbor Neuregulin 1.