Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $82.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRUS. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th.

Merus Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $52.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.02 and a beta of 1.11. Merus has a twelve month low of $19.81 and a twelve month high of $61.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.63.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $7.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 36.33% and a negative net margin of 476.41%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Merus by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 102,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after acquiring an additional 40,060 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter valued at $555,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merus by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,714,000 after acquiring an additional 323,518 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merus by 90.6% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,848,000 after acquiring an additional 247,813 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter valued at $53,377,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.