Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Merus N.V. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from nineteen ratings firms, with one sell, fourteen hold, and four buy recommendations.
• The average 1-year price target for Merus shares is $93.12, reflecting a recent downward adjustment from some brokerages.
• Merus recently reported disappointing earnings, with an EPS of ($2.23), falling short of the expected ($1.17), and a revenue of $8.83 million against an anticipated $9.77 million.

Shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.1176.

Several brokerages have commented on MRUS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (down from $112.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company.

Merus Trading Up 0.0%

MRUS stock opened at $94.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.17 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $77.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.94. Merus has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $95.04.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 valued at $198,588,000 after buying an additional 1,220,519 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its holdings in Merus by 99.4% during the 1st quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $141,831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,777 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 351,616 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 36.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 541,168 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 46.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,528,587 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $80,404,000 after acquiring an additional 483,962 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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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