Brokerages Set Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Target Price at $85.31

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.31.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRUS shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Merus by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,899,521 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $290,125,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Merus by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,497,653 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $147,076,000 after purchasing an additional 610,139 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merus by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,256,504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $117,722,000 after purchasing an additional 150,341 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merus by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,356,000 after purchasing an additional 770,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $79,895,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of MRUS opened at $47.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.92 and a beta of 1.15. Merus has a one year low of $37.77 and a one year high of $61.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.90 and its 200-day moving average is $46.34.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.48. The company had revenue of $9.14 million for 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%. Analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal 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.