Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Up 6% – Should You Buy?

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) shares traded up 6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.99 and last traded at $47.51. 101,913 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 679,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRUS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Monday. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.45.

Merus Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.85. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.03 and a beta of 1.12.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. As a group, analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd raised its position in shares of Merus by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 24.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 750.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.