Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Price

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Citigroup from $89.00 to $97.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 125.90% from the stock’s previous close.

MRUS has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective (down previously from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.64.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS opened at $42.94 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.46 and its 200 day moving average is $51.79. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $22.27 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.87 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Institutional Trading of Merus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Merus by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,031,000 after acquiring an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Merus by 30.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,633 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 9,488 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus during the second quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Merus by 41.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in Merus during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,763,000. 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.