Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Now Covered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 70.04% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MRUS. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Lifesci Capital upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.45.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $42.93 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.87 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a 1-year low of $22.26 and a 1-year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its stake in shares of Merus by 10.4% in the third quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merus by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $144,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merus during the 3rd quarter valued at $358,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Merus by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,637,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,834,000 after acquiring an additional 64,122 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.