Brokerages Set Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Price Target at $80.20

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.20.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRUS. Guggenheim upped their target price on Merus from $57.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Merus from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

Merus Stock Performance

MRUS opened at $49.67 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $19.81 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Novo Holdings A S purchased a new position in Merus in the second quarter worth approximately $39,940,000. Perceptive Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merus during the second quarter worth $17,751,000. Algert Global LLC raised its position in Merus by 36.4% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 133,323 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 35,549 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,714,000 after purchasing an additional 323,518 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.