Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $37.54 and last traded at $37.87, with a volume of 438895 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRUS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.31.

Merus Trading Down 8.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Institutional Trading of Merus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $79,895,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Merus by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $144,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merus by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,356,000 after purchasing an additional 770,000 shares in the last quarter. Gilead Sciences Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,029,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,706,238 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,747,000 after purchasing an additional 439,186 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.