Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $83.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MRUS. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, March 28th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Merus in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.31.

Merus Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.16. 440,049 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 708,634. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $61.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.87 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.35.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.57 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Merus by 17.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 84,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,207,000 after purchasing an additional 12,212 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter worth about $358,000. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in Merus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Merus by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,256,504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $117,722,000 after buying an additional 150,341 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 83.0% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 723,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,171,000 after acquiring an additional 328,316 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.