Merus’ (MRUS) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $85.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.70.

Merus Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $50.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of -12.73 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.87 and its 200 day moving average is $51.37. Merus has a twelve month low of $21.51 and a twelve month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative return on equity of 43.29% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The business had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Merus in the first quarter worth about $72,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in Merus by 750.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in Merus during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Merus during the first quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Merus by 24.7% in 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. 96.14% of the stock is 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.