Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $96.00 to $110.00. The stock had previously closed at $41.60, but opened at $50.20. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Merus shares last traded at $53.82, with a volume of 2,516,414 shares.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merus Trading Up 32.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.96 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.56.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.