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

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.20.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Merus from $57.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the first quarter worth about $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the first quarter worth about $108,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the second quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the second quarter worth about $242,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $49.42 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.96. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -17.84 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a 1 year low of $19.81 and a 1 year high of $61.61.

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

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.