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

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $85.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would suggest a potential upside of 98.00% from the company's previous close.

MRUS has been the topic of several other reports. 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 on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.70.

Merus Stock Performance

Merus stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.93. 677,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 682,807. Merus has a 12-month low of $22.26 and a 12-month high of $61.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.72 and a 200 day moving average of $51.92. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Merus will post -3.88 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Merus in the third quarter worth $675,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 26.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the first quarter valued at about $555,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in Merus by 90.6% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,848,000 after buying an additional 247,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in Merus in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company's stock.

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.