Guggenheim Reiterates Buy Rating for Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Guggenheim in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $109.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price indicates a potential upside of 131.91% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MRUS. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS opened at $47.00 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.26. Merus has a 1 year low of $37.77 and a 1 year high of $61.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 1.15.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The firm had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus during the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.