Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $85.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Lifesci Capital raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.91.

Merus Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MRUS traded up $0.37 on Friday, reaching $50.30. 470,895 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 696,391. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.22. Merus has a 52-week low of $21.51 and a 52-week high of $61.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of -17.23 and a beta of 1.11.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 36.33% and a negative net margin of 476.41%. Analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 6.7% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 11.9% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,714,000 after purchasing an additional 323,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx1 Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 32.9% during the first quarter. Lynx1 Capital Management LP now owns 1,509,007 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $67,951,000 after buying an additional 373,782 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.