Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Price Up 5.1% – Here’s What Happened

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) rose 5.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $44.48 and last traded at $44.40. Approximately 452,918 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average daily volume of 352,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRUS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.64.

Merus Stock Up 6.7 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.41 and a beta of 1.10.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. Research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 43,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of Merus by 83.0% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 723,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,171,000 after buying an additional 328,316 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 150,341 shares during the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd grew its stake in shares of Merus by 10.4% during the third 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. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the third quarter worth $206,000. 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.