Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $62.42, but opened at $58.12. Merus shares last traded at $57.18, with a volume of 1,387,323 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.83.

Merus Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $44.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.78. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.18 and a beta of 0.94.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The company had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Merus by 2,153.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Merus by 27.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Merus by 955.3% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares in the last quarter. 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.