Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.31.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRUS. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS opened at $39.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.98 and a beta of 0.94. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $61.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.36.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.48. The company had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.57 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV increased its position in Merus by 4,583.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 57,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 56,012 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth about $347,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Merus by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 48,268 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 10,842 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Merus by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,256,504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $117,722,000 after purchasing an additional 150,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 83.0% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 723,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,171,000 after buying an additional 328,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.