Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,260,000 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the December 15th total of 9,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 539,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 15.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRUS shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,573 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Merus by 813.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,682,000 after buying an additional 853,060 shares during the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP bought a new stake in Merus in the second quarter worth $50,294,000. Novo Holdings A S purchased a new position in Merus during the second quarter worth $39,940,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Merus by 10.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,873,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $343,421,000 after acquiring an additional 648,994 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of MRUS opened at $39.65 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.13 and its 200 day moving average is $49.35. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $31.27 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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.