Analysts Set Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) Target Price at $88.50

Shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.50.

MRUS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. HC Wainwright raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th.

Merus Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS opened at $63.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.03. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of -11.59 and a beta of 1.09. Merus has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $67.59.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The firm had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. On average, research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,895,000. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP grew its stake in Merus by 99.4% during the 1st quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,777 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Merus by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $198,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,519 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merus by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,356,000 after purchasing an additional 770,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Merus by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,042,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $107,430,000 after purchasing an additional 541,168 shares during the last quarter. 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.