Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.70.

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRUS. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Merus Stock Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $49.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.90. Merus has a 52 week low of $22.26 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.57 and a beta of 1.12.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced 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 net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.88 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 10.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,873,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $343,421,000 after purchasing an additional 648,994 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its stake in Merus by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 2,749,401 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $162,682,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,398,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,937,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 2,324,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,523,000 after acquiring an additional 247,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 26.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,714,000 after purchasing an additional 323,518 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.