Merus’ (MRUS) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $83.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MRUS. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $41.97 on Wednesday. Merus has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.65 and its 200-day moving average is $45.25.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 2,153.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 41,149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,318,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.