Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Now Covered by UBS Group

UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $72.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MRUS. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Lifesci Capital upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merus presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.09.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS opened at $53.06 on Thursday. Merus has a 12-month low of $19.81 and a 12-month high of $61.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of -18.17 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.02.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Merus by 68.6% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,119 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 5,336 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc bought a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,357,000. Novo Holdings A S increased its stake in Merus by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Novo Holdings A S now owns 700,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,972,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merus by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,527,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.