Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Rating Lowered by Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays downgraded Merus' stock rating from "overweight" to "equal weight" and reduced its price target from $112.00 to $97.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.03% from the previous close.
• Other brokerages have also downgraded Merus, with Needham & Company setting a price objective of $96.00 and HC Wainwright cutting their target from $135.00 to $97.00.
• Merus reported a larger-than-expected loss of ($2.23) earnings per share in its latest quarterly earnings, significantly missing analysts' estimates of ($1.17).

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $97.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock, down from their prior price target of $112.00. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.03% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Merus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Merus from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday. Alliance Global Partners started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.88.

Merus Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MRUS opened at $94.15 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $67.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.12. Merus has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $94.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.12 and a beta of 1.19.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The business had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 50.28% and a negative net margin of 685.64%. Analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,792,500. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sender Co & Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Merus during the 2nd quarter valued at $684,000. Sofinnova Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Merus during the 2nd quarter valued at $21,280,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Merus during the 2nd quarter valued at $627,000. Octagon Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in Merus by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 389,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,461,000 after purchasing an additional 81,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merus by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 708,176 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,250,000 after purchasing an additional 17,691 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.