Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Sets New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $64.88 and last traded at $64.15, with a volume of 491196 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, March 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.64.

Merus Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $53.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.60. The company has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative net margin of 506.73% and a negative return on equity of 35.99%. The firm had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 over the last three months. 4.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Merus by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,899,521 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $290,125,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,220,519 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Merus by 99.4% during the 1st quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $141,831,000 after buying an additional 1,679,777 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Merus by 56.8% in 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, Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,895,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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