Merus’ (MRUS) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $85.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 95.45% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MRUS. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.70.

Merus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $43.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.01 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.72 and a 200 day moving average of $51.92. Merus has a 52-week low of $22.26 and a 52-week high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The firm had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.11 million. Equities analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Merus in the 1st quarter worth about $108,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Merus by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,031,000 after acquiring an additional 4,192 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Merus in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,342,000. Altitude Crest Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Merus during the 1st quarter worth about $4,946,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,377,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.