Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $112.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Alliance Global Partners began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. HC Wainwright upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.54.

Merus Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $68.95 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.51. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of -12.54 and a beta of 1.19. Merus has a 12-month low of $33.19 and a 12-month high of $70.65.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 50.28% and a negative net margin of 685.64%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock worth $2,792,500 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted 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 acquiring 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. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 955.3% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Company Profile

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.