Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Rating Lowered by Barclays

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) was downgraded by Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $97.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $112.00. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 3.03% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MRUS. Truist Financial lowered Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $88.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merus from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair lowered Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 target price on Merus in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $97.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.88.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of MRUS opened at $94.15 on Tuesday. Merus has a 52-week low of $33.19 and a 52-week high of $94.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $68.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.38. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of -17.12 and a beta of 1.26.

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 the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($1.06). Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. The business had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 million. Research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,792,500. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Merus by 299.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its position in Merus by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,753 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Merus by 955.3% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Merus by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,674 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.