Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.64.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 750.0% in the third 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 Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $103,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merus during the second quarter worth approximately $242,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merus Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $42.07 on Friday. Merus has a 52 week low of $27.11 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.65 and a beta of 1.07.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.89 EPS 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.