Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.64.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of Merus stock opened at $42.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.87. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $27.11 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.65 and a beta of 1.07.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released 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 firm had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merus by 750.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the second quarter worth $237,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.