Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO) Stock Price Up 5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Mereo BioPharma Group plc – Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:MREO) were up 5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $0.3150 and last traded at $0.3021. Approximately 1,304,967 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 924,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.2878.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MREO. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $1.00 price objective on shares of Mereo BioPharma Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Mereo BioPharma Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mereo BioPharma Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.25.

Mereo BioPharma Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $48.92 million, a P/E ratio of -6.13 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.36.

Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mereo BioPharma Group plc – Sponsored ADR will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mereo BioPharma Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EcoR1 Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mereo BioPharma Group by 70.2% in the 1st quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 13,368,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,412,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512,389 shares during the period. 683 Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mereo BioPharma Group by 208.2% in the 4th quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 15,025,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,261,000 after acquiring an additional 10,150,000 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC lifted its holdings in Mereo BioPharma Group by 302.2% during the first quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 127,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 96,010 shares in the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM lifted its holdings in Mereo BioPharma Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 1,585,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 639,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luminus Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mereo BioPharma Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $165,000. 62.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mereo BioPharma Group

Mereo BioPharma Group plc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for rare diseases, oncology and severe respiratory conditions. The company pursues an asset‐centric model, in which it in-licenses or acquires clinical-stage small molecules and monoclonal antibodies with established safety profiles. By concentrating resources on a select number of programs, Mereo aims to accelerate proof-of-concept studies and maximize the potential value of each therapeutic candidate.

Mereo’s pipeline includes investigational therapies for skeletal disorders, such as setrusumab (BPS-804) for osteogenesis imperfecta, and treatments for acute and chronic respiratory diseases.