Merus’ (MRUS) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $97.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $109.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MRUS. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merus from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. William Blair lowered shares of Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Lifesci Capital reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.88.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $94.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of -17.12 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.71. Merus has a one year low of $33.19 and a one year high of $94.56.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The business had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. Equities research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,792,500 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 21.9% during the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,753 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.7% during the first quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 13,785 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 15.7% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,674 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 14.1% during the second quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 3,136 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 9.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.