Merus' (MRUS) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $66.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 43.95% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.33.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $45.85. The company had a trading volume of 833,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,506. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.97. Merus has a 12 month low of $19.81 and a 12 month high of $52.03. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.55 and a beta of 1.10.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.24. The business had revenue of $7.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.94 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 390.36% and a negative return on equity of 44.13%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. RTW Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 90.0% during the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 1,996,764 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,084,000 after acquiring an additional 945,871 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its position in shares of Merus by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 3,876,938 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $91,418,000 after purchasing an additional 845,000 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,637,309 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $100,026,000 after buying an additional 751,609 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merus by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 888,888 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,444,000 after buying an additional 444,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rock Springs Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Merus by 75.2% in the third quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 838,428 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $19,770,000 after buying an additional 359,897 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.