Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $47.10, but opened at $48.47. Merus shares last traded at $46.90, with a volume of 16,851 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRUS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Down 1.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.06 and a 200-day moving average of $46.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.74 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Institutional Trading of Merus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Merus by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.