Needham & Company LLC Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $66.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 53.17% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Merus from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Merus from $40.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.64.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS stock traded up $1.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 558,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 579,930. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.17 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $44.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.36. Merus has a 1-year low of $18.21 and a 1-year high of $52.03.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.71) by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $8.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 352.56% and a negative return on equity of 50.61%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Merus by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Merus by 142.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,477 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its stake in shares of Merus by 107.4% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,811 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 871.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,564 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 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.