Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $66.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 57.71% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MRUS. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Merus from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Merus from $40.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.64.

Merus Stock Down 2.9 %

Merus stock opened at $41.85 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.85 and its 200 day moving average is $32.49. Merus has a one year low of $18.21 and a one year high of $52.03.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $8.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 352.56% and a negative return on equity of 50.61%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merus by 142.1% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its position in shares of Merus by 107.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,811 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Merus by 871.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,564 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.