Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Receives $80.90 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.90.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRUS shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $57.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.67 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.51 and a 200 day moving average of $44.79. Merus has a 1 year low of $19.81 and a 1 year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.24. The company had revenue of $7.89 million during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Shuman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $317,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,002 shares in the company, valued at $370,335.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,300 shares of company stock worth $1,392,792. Insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in Merus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,377,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Merus by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,637,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,026,000 after buying an additional 751,609 shares during the period. Artal Group S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $20,492,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 888,888 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,444,000 after buying an additional 444,444 shares during the period. Finally, RTW Investments LP raised its position in shares of Merus by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,373,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,275,000 after buying an additional 376,861 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.