Merus' (MRUS) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $75.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target indicates a potential upside of 80.46% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MRUS. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $84.54.

Merus Stock Up 3.7%

MRUS opened at $41.56 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $42.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.66. Merus has a 52-week low of $33.19 and a 52-week high of $61.61. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.52 and a beta of 0.94.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The firm had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,895,000. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Merus by 99.4% in the 1st quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $141,831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,777 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merus by 34.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $198,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,519 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $89,356,000 after purchasing an additional 770,000 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in Merus by 51.2% during the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,501,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,186,000 after acquiring an additional 508,063 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.