Merus (MRUS) Competitors

Alpine Immune Sciences (NASDAQ:ALPN) and Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) are both mid-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and community ranking.

Does the media prefer ALPN or MRUS?

In the previous week, Alpine Immune Sciences had 27 more articles in the media than Merus. MarketBeat recorded 31 mentions for Alpine Immune Sciences and 4 mentions for Merus. Alpine Immune Sciences' average media sentiment score of 0.84 beat Merus' score of 0.68 indicating that Merus is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alpine Immune Sciences	12 Very Positive mention(s)	10 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Merus	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in ALPN or MRUS?

75.2% of Alpine Immune Sciences shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Merus shares are held by institutional investors. 42.3% of Alpine Immune Sciences shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Merus shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, ALPN or MRUS?

Alpine Immune Sciences has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Merus has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ALPN or MRUS more profitable?

Alpine Immune Sciences has a net margin of -54.66% compared to Alpine Immune Sciences' net margin of -352.56%. Merus' return on equity of -15.54% beat Alpine Immune Sciences' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alpine Immune Sciences	-54.66%	-15.54%	-11.34%
Merus	-352.56%	-50.61%	-37.56%

Which has higher earnings & valuation, ALPN or MRUS?

Alpine Immune Sciences has higher revenue and earnings than Merus. Alpine Immune Sciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Merus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alpine Immune Sciences	$58.88M	71.73	-$32.18M	-$0.64	-100.67
Merus	$43.95M	54.04	-$154.94M	-$3.04	-13.31

Do analysts rate ALPN or MRUS?

Alpine Immune Sciences currently has a consensus price target of $50.33, suggesting a potential downside of 21.88%. Merus has a consensus price target of $56.33, suggesting a potential upside of 39.20%. Given Alpine Immune Sciences' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Merus is more favorable than Alpine Immune Sciences.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alpine Immune Sciences	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.27
Merus	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ALPN or MRUS?

Alpine Immune Sciences received 57 more outperform votes than Merus when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 65.45% of users gave Merus an outperform vote while only 64.57% of users gave Alpine Immune Sciences an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Alpine Immune Sciences	Outperform Votes 379 64.57%	Underperform Votes 208 35.43%
Merus	Outperform Votes 322 65.45%	Underperform Votes 170 34.55%

Summary

Alpine Immune Sciences beats Merus on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.