Merus’ (MRUS) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $85.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 89.56% from the company’s current price.

MRUS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.45.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $44.84 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.35 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a 12 month low of $22.27 and a 12 month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The business had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.11 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Merus by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,031,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Merus by 2.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Merus by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,633 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after buying an additional 9,488 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Merus by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is 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.