Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Trading 7.5% Higher - Should You Buy?

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 7.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $60.62 and last traded at $60.73. Approximately 518,256 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 729,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MRUS shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merus from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $84.64.

Merus Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of -15.06 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $51.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.89.

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 business had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.82 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,086,340 over the last three months. 4.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Merus by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,753 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 45,680 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,921,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merus by 2.7% during the first quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 13,785 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB grew its position in Merus by 14.1% during the second quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 3,136 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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