Merus’ (MRUS) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $85.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MRUS. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.45.

Merus Price Performance

Merus stock opened at $48.53 on Monday. Merus has a 1 year low of $22.27 and a 1 year high of $61.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.93 and a 200-day moving average of $51.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.29 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merus by 2.8% during the 1st 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. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Merus by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Merus by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,633 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 9,488 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $616,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Merus by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently 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.