Wall Street Zen Downgrades Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) to Sell

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MRUS. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $84.64.

Merus Stock Up 3.0%

Merus stock opened at $63.26 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.20. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.50 and a beta of 1.00. Merus has a 12-month low of $33.19 and a 12-month high of $63.43.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 506.73% and a negative return on equity of 35.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. 4.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $347,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Merus by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 76,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,210,000 after purchasing an additional 28,983 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Merus during the 4th quarter worth $817,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merus Company Profile

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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