Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Now Covered by Alliance Global Partners

Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $90.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. HC Wainwright raised shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.64.

Merus Stock Performance

MRUS opened at $65.74 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.67. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of -11.95 and a beta of 1.09. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $68.18.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The business had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 50.28% and a negative net margin of 685.64%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 299.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Merus during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.