Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Trading 4.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) shares shot up 4.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.69 and last traded at $45.14. 165,848 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 715,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRUS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.99. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.97 and a beta of 1.02.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Merus by 2,153.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Merus by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors 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.