Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $72.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on MRUS. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Lifesci Capital raised Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.09.

Merus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $52.30. The stock had a trading volume of 377,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,471. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.88 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.84. Merus has a 12-month low of $19.81 and a 12-month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 36.33% and a negative net margin of 476.41%. On average, equities analysts expect that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Merus in the 1st quarter worth $72,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Merus by 63.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 102,885 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,633,000 after buying an additional 40,060 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Merus by 160.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the first quarter worth $108,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Merus by 1.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 74,054 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.