FY2024 EPS Estimates for Merus Decreased by Analyst (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs dropped their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Merus in a report issued on Wednesday, April 24th. Leerink Partnrs analyst A. Berens now anticipates that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of ($3.66) for the year, down from their prior forecast of ($3.54). The consensus estimate for Merus’ current full-year earnings is ($3.31) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Merus’ Q4 2024 earnings at ($1.09) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($4.16) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($0.84) EPS.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 50.61% and a negative net margin of 352.56%. The firm had revenue of $8.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MRUS. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Merus from $40.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.33.

Merus Stock Performance

Merus stock opened at $44.91 on Monday. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $18.21 and a fifty-two week high of $52.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of -14.77 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.34.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Commodore Capital LP increased its position in shares of Merus by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,747,373 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $130,553,000 after acquiring an additional 319,301 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C grew its holdings in Merus by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 3,876,938 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,418,000 after purchasing an additional 845,000 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Merus by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,637,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,026,000 after acquiring an additional 751,609 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merus by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,735,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,497,000 after acquiring an additional 60,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RTW Investments LP boosted its stake in Merus by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,373,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,275,000 after acquiring an additional 376,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.