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

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MRUS. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Monday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Merus in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.45.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $44.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.85.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The firm had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 7.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,256,504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $117,722,000 after purchasing an additional 150,341 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merus by 73.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the third quarter worth $358,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.