Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.64.

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRUS. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merus from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

Merus Trading Up 7.3%

MRUS stock traded up $4.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.64. 810,176 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 731,016. Merus has a 12-month low of $33.19 and a 12-month high of $62.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.88 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.89.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 506.73% and a negative return on equity of 35.99%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merus 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 value of $1,793,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 57,500 shares of company stock worth $3,086,340 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of 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 period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Merus by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,753 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 2.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Merus by 14.1% in the second quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 3,136 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.