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

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $83.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

MRUS has been the subject of several other reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Down 1.0 %

MRUS traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.16. 440,049 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, 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’s 50-day moving average is $43.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.87 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Merus by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. 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.