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

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.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on shares of Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. HC Wainwright raised shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.50.

Merus Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.20 and a beta of 1.09. The business's 50-day moving average price is $58.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.03.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. Research analysts expect that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In other 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 833,361 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $43,835,000 after acquiring an additional 5,144 shares in the last quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merus during the second quarter worth $3,299,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Merus during the second quarter worth $925,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Merus during the second quarter worth $1,697,000. Finally, Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB boosted its holdings in Merus by 55.7% during the second quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 116,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,102,000 after purchasing an additional 41,500 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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