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

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $63.43 and last traded at $63.26, with a volume of 1061420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRUS. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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 cut Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.64.

Merus Trading Down 1.0%

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $52.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of -15.34 and a beta of 1.00.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Merus during the fourth quarter valued at about $347,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Merus by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 76,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 28,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $817,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

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.