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

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $66.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Merus from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Merus from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $56.80.

Merus Stock Up 36.1 %

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $59.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.66 and a beta of 1.10. Merus has a twelve month low of $19.81 and a twelve month high of $61.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.62 and its 200 day moving average is $37.38.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $7.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.94 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 44.13% and a negative net margin of 390.36%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Merus by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Merus by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the first quarter worth $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the first quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,753 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is 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.