Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Trading Down 3.1% – Should You Sell?

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) shares dropped 3.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $53.51 and last traded at $53.44. Approximately 414,063 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 732,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

Merus Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -13.26 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.42.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The company had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.82 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Merus by 2,153.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently 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.