Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Monday.
Several other brokerages also recently commented on MRUS. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Merus from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.60.
Merus Price Performance
MRUS stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $27.07. The company had a trading volume of 704,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,131. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.20 and a beta of 0.82. Merus has a 52 week low of $13.94 and a 52 week high of $27.70.
Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73) by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $11.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 63.39% and a negative net margin of 387.00%. On average, equities analysts predict that Merus will post -2.61 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity at Merus
In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 22,386 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $559,650.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 23,076 shares of company stock worth $576,852 in the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Merus by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 26,440 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merus by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al raised its holdings in Merus by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 23,638 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Merus by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Merus by 142.1% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. 90.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.