Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Trading Down 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)’s share price dropped 7.6% on Monday . The company traded as low as $39.00 and last traded at $41.20. Approximately 332,799 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 686,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRUS. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -10.59 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.03.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $9.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. Equities research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Merus by 27.3% during 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 in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.