Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given New $83.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) had its price target cut by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $85.00 to $83.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 79.58% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MRUS. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted 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, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.77.

Merus Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MRUS opened at $46.22 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.84. Merus has a twelve month low of $37.77 and a twelve month high of $61.61. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Merus by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 45,680 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Merus by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 113,056 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,754,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd raised its stake in Merus by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Merus by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.