Mersana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRSN) Coverage Initiated at Citigroup

Research analysts at Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Mersana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRSN) in a research report issued on Friday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 98.41% from the company’s previous close.

MRSN has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Mersana Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Mersana Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.00.

Mersana Therapeutics Stock Down 4.2 %

Mersana Therapeutics stock opened at $2.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $309.15 million, a P/E ratio of -4.13 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $2.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.07. Mersana Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $1.22 and a twelve month high of $6.28.

Mersana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). Mersana Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 305.33% and a negative net margin of 214.20%. The company had revenue of $2.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.47) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Mersana Therapeutics will post -0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Martin H. Jr. Huber sold 50,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $88,744.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 116,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,735.52. This trade represents a 30.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 70,849 shares of company stock worth $129,184 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRSN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Mersana Therapeutics by 6.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 79,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,962 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Mersana Therapeutics by 976.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 8,575 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mersana Therapeutics by 8.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 189,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 14,240 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in shares of Mersana Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mersana Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 93.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mersana Therapeutics Company Profile

Mersana Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops antibody drug conjugates (ADC) for cancer patients with unmet needs. The company develops XMT-1660, a B7-H4-targeted Dolasynthen ADC candidate; and XMT-2056, an immunosynthen ADC. It has research and development collaborations with Janssen Biotech, Inc, Ares Trading SA, Merck KGaA, and Asana BioSciences, LLC for the development of ADC product candidates.