Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $37.54 and last traded at $37.87, with a volume of 438895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MRUS shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Merus in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.31.

Merus Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.74. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.02.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The company had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 17.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 84,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,207,000 after purchasing an additional 12,212 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at $358,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merus by 73.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $144,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 4,583.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 57,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 56,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Merus by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 48,268 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 10,842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.