Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Merus N.V. has received a consensus "Buy" rating from twelve brokerages, with an average one-year price target of $88.75.
• The company reported a significant earnings miss in its latest quarter, with an EPS of -$2.23, compared to analysts' expectations of -$1.17.
• Insider trading activity revealed that COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares for $1.5 million, and insiders have sold 82,500 shares of the stock in the last three months.

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $88.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRUS shares. Alliance Global Partners started coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. HC Wainwright raised shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS opened at $66.62 on Thursday. Merus has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $69.20. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of -12.11 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.79.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($1.06). Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. The company had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.77 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merus

In other 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 34.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $198,588,000 after buying an additional 1,220,519 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 99.4% in the first quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $141,831,000 after buying an additional 1,679,777 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Merus by 18.8% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,225,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $117,048,000 after purchasing an additional 351,616 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in Merus by 36.0% during the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,042,388 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $107,430,000 after purchasing an additional 541,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its holdings in Merus by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,706,238 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,747,000 after purchasing an additional 439,186 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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