Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Short Interest Down 15.5% in December

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,260,000 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the December 15th total of 9,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 539,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 15.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRUS shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective (down previously from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Merus by 17.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 84,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,207,000 after purchasing an additional 12,212 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Merus during the 3rd quarter worth $675,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merus by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,714,000 after buying an additional 323,518 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Merus by 90.6% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,848,000 after acquiring an additional 247,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new position in Merus in the third quarter valued at about $1,870,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of Merus stock traded up $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $39.65. 698,675 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 808,818. Merus has a one year low of $31.27 and a one year high of $61.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -10.04 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.35.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. On average, analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.