William Blair Comments on Merus’ Q2 2022 Earnings (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS – Get Rating) – Research analysts at William Blair raised their Q2 2022 EPS estimates for Merus in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 10th. William Blair analyst M. Phipps now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings of ($0.62) per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.69). William Blair also issued estimates for Merus’ Q3 2022 earnings at ($0.62) EPS, Q4 2022 earnings at ($0.63) EPS, FY2022 earnings at ($2.31) EPS, Q1 2023 earnings at ($0.65) EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at ($0.67) EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at ($0.73) EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at ($0.77) EPS, FY2023 earnings at ($2.83) EPS, FY2024 earnings at ($2.68) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($2.10) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($1.95) EPS.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.58) by $0.24. Merus had a negative return on equity of 27.26% and a negative net margin of 135.65%. The firm had revenue of $14.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.39 million.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MRUS. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Merus in a report on Friday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.89.

Merus stock opened at $16.26 on Thursday. Merus has a 12-month low of $16.06 and a 12-month high of $33.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.70. The stock has a market cap of $708.11 million, a PE ratio of -9.45 and a beta of 1.11.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Merus by 11.0% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 279,316 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,144,000 after buying an additional 27,740 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Merus in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,300,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Merus by 1,407.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 117,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after buying an additional 109,518 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merus by 33.0% in the third quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 32,972 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 8,173 shares during the period. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 104.5% during the third quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,585 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. 85.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

In related news, EVP Peter B. Silverman sold 60,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.95, for a total value of $1,617,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Merus (Get Rating)

Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the discovery and development of bispecific 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, as well as in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors that harbor Neuregulin 1.

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