Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.20.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRUS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Merus from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, June 25th.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $53.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of -19.35 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.26. Merus has a 1-year low of $19.81 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 45.76%. The business had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merus will post -3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Merus news, VP Harry Shuman sold 7,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.84, for a total transaction of $422,232.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,002 shares in the company, valued at $404,995.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,300 shares of company stock worth $1,392,792 in the last quarter. 4.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Merus by 135.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 62,825 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,728,000 after buying an additional 36,160 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at $1,268,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in shares of Merus by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 40,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 23,503 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.