Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $64.88 and last traded at $64.15, with a volume of 491196 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRUS shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on Merus and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.40.

Merus Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.38 and a beta of 1.00.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative return on equity of 35.99% and a negative net margin of 506.73%. The firm had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $347,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $433,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 14,491 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the period. 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.