Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.31.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Merus Stock Up 1.3 %

MRUS stock opened at $47.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.26. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $37.77 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.48. The business had revenue of $9.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 45,680 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 113,056 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,754,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,636 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. 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.