Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Merus from $40.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.33.

Merus Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $44.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.91 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $44.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.04. Merus has a 1 year low of $19.81 and a 1 year high of $52.03.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.24. The company had revenue of $7.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.94 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 390.36% and a negative return on equity of 44.13%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commodore Capital LP lifted its position in Merus by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,747,373 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,553,000 after purchasing an additional 319,301 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 3,876,938 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,418,000 after purchasing an additional 845,000 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Merus by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,637,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,026,000 after purchasing an additional 751,609 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Merus by 2.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,735,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,497,000 after buying an additional 60,135 shares during the period. Finally, RTW Investments LP grew its position in Merus by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,373,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,275,000 after acquiring an additional 376,861 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.