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

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.70.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group initiated 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. Lifesci Capital upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the first quarter worth $53,377,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Merus by 813.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,682,000 after acquiring an additional 853,060 shares in the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP bought a new position in Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,294,000. Novo Holdings A S bought a new position in shares of Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,940,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the third quarter valued at about $30,399,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $51.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.07 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a twelve month low of $22.01 and a twelve month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. As a group, research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.