Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Truist Financial

Stock analysts at Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $69.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective points to a potential upside of 54.19% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MRUS. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Merus from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Merus from $42.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Merus from $40.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.55.

Merus Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MRUS opened at $44.75 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.90. Merus has a 52-week low of $17.15 and a 52-week high of $52.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by ($0.38). Merus had a negative net margin of 352.56% and a negative return on equity of 50.61%. The business had revenue of $8.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Merus will post -3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merus in the third quarter worth $33,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Merus by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 142.1% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its stake in shares of Merus by 107.4% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,811 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 871.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,564 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.