Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Equal Weight

Key Points

• Merus (NASDAQ: MRUS) has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Wells Fargo & Company, while other analysts have set various target prices ranging from $90.00 to $112.00.
• The company's stock currently boasts a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $92.73, despite a recent earnings miss.
• Merus reported a loss of ($2.23) EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates, and has faced recent insider selling totaling $2.79 million.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $97.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock, up from their previous price target of $95.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.56% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $97.00 price objective on Merus in a research note on Monday. Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on Merus in a research report on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. William Blair cut Merus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 price target on Merus in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Truist Financial cut Merus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.63.

Merus Trading Up 36.0%

Shares of Merus stock opened at $93.67 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.84. Merus has a 12-month low of $33.19 and a 12-month high of $94.56. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.03 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,792,500. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sender Co & Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $684,000. Sofinnova Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,280,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $627,000. Octagon Capital Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 389,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,461,000 after acquiring an additional 81,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

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.