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

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $82.00.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Lifesci Capital upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Merus Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Merus stock opened at $53.40 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.46. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $19.81 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.28 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Merus by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Merus by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 74,054 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Merus during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Merus by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the period. 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.