Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

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

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.64.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $42.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.87 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.79. Merus has a one year low of $22.27 and a one year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (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 net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. As a group, analysts expect that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 750.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the third quarter valued at about $103,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 24.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the third quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the second quarter valued at about $237,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.