Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Merus N.V. reached a new 52-week high at $67.59 and traded at $67.09 with significant trading volume of nearly 1 million shares.
• Wall Street analysts rate Merus with an average of 10 buy ratings and an average price target of $88.50, indicating strong investor confidence.
• Merus reported a loss of $2.23 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, and had revenue of $8.83 million, lower than expected.

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $67.59 and last traded at $67.09, with a volume of 956962 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRUS shares. HC Wainwright upgraded Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.50.

Merus Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of -12.11 and a beta of 1.09.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.77 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,356,000 after acquiring an additional 770,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silverarc Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC now owns 680,845 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,630,000 after acquiring an additional 45,406 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.