Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $96.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective suggests a potential upside of 101.65% from the company's previous close.

MRUS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Merus Stock Performance

Merus stock traded up $12.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.55. 3,020,556 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 743,221. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.75 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50 day moving average is $42.54 and its 200-day moving average is $43.53.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) 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 business had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. Analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 0.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Merus by 34.9% during the 1st 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 period. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP increased its holdings in Merus by 99.4% in the 1st quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $141,831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,777 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merus by 56.8% in 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 period. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter valued at about $79,895,000. 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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