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

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.64.

Several research firms have weighed in on MRUS. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 2nd.

Merus Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MRUS opened at $41.30 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.69. Merus has a 52 week low of $33.60 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The firm had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.11 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Merus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Merus by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Merus by 813.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,682,000 after purchasing an additional 853,060 shares during the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the second quarter worth $50,294,000. Novo Holdings A S purchased a new position in Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,940,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Merus by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,873,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $343,421,000 after buying an additional 648,994 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Merus

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.