Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.93, but opened at $45.07. Merus shares last traded at $44.72, with a volume of 94,167 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRUS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.45.

Merus Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.30 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its position in shares of Merus by 10.4% during the third quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merus by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,573 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the 3rd quarter worth about $358,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Merus by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,637,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,834,000 after purchasing an additional 64,122 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.