Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.33.

MRUS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial began coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised Merus from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Merus by 47.9% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,084 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 3,916 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merus by 10.8% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,446 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Merus by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,103 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 3,647 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Merus by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,354 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,201,000 after buying an additional 28,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Merus by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 774,953 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,273,000 after buying an additional 180,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS traded down $1.11 on Friday, hitting $43.91. The company had a trading volume of 486,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,955. The company's fifty day moving average price is $44.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.27. Merus has a 1-year low of $19.81 and a 1-year high of $52.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.25 and a beta of 1.10.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.24. Merus had a negative return on equity of 44.13% and a negative net margin of 390.36%. The firm had revenue of $7.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.94 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.14 EPS for the current year.

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.