Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Price

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) had its target price lowered by analysts at Bank of America from $73.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 52.11% from the stock’s current price.

MRUS has been the topic of a number of other reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Merus in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.31.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $46.02. 178,035 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 628,496. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.49. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of -11.66 and a beta of 1.15. Merus has a 52 week low of $37.77 and a 52 week high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The business had revenue of $9.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter worth about $1,318,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Merus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Merus by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 98,744 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,152,000 after buying an additional 14,544 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Merus by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,188,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,977,000 after acquiring an additional 3,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $817,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently 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.