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

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.33.

MRUS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Merus from $40.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

Merus Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $45.04 on Monday. Merus has a 1 year low of $18.21 and a 1 year high of $52.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.78 and a beta of 1.10.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by ($0.38). Merus had a negative net margin of 352.56% and a negative return on equity of 50.61%. The company had revenue of $8.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merus during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Merus by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merus by 142.1% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Merus by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Merus during the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.