Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $85.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.70.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $42.93 on Wednesday. Merus has a 1-year low of $22.26 and a 1-year high of $61.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.92.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The firm had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 million. Analysts predict that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Merus during the third quarter worth about $675,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,714,000 after buying an additional 323,518 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $555,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 90.6% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,848,000 after buying an additional 247,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in Merus during the first quarter worth $53,377,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.