Merus’ (MRUS) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $85.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

MRUS has been the subject of several other reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 target price (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.64.

Merus Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS opened at $43.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.73. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of -10.93 and a beta of 1.07. Merus has a 12-month low of $22.27 and a 12-month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Merus

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