Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Up 6% – What’s Next?

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) shares shot up 6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $47.99 and last traded at $47.51. 101,913 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 679,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.45.

Merus Stock Up 9.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.03 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.91 and a 200 day moving average of $51.85.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. Research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Merus by 10.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,873,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $343,421,000 after purchasing an additional 648,994 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merus by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $144,260,000 after buying an additional 1,224,573 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C grew its holdings in Merus by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 2,749,401 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $162,682,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merus by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,398,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,937,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 2,324,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $137,523,000 after acquiring an additional 247,605 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.