Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.93, but opened at $45.07. Merus shares last traded at $44.72, with a volume of 94,167 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Finally, Lifesci Capital raised shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued 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 a consensus target price of $85.45.

Merus Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of -11.30 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.49 and its 200 day moving average is $51.81.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced 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). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.11 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 bought a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at $103,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Merus in the 1st quarter valued at $108,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merus by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. 96.14% of the stock is 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.