Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Earns Buy Rating from Guggenheim

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Guggenheim in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $109.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $111.00. Guggenheim’s price target points to a potential upside of 128.22% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MRUS. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Monday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.27.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ MRUS traded down $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.76. 142,841 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 681,064. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.09 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.88. Merus has a 12-month low of $22.27 and a 12-month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. As a group, analysts expect that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 750.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE bought a new stake in Merus during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.