Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Price Up 5.2%

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)’s stock price rose 5.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.23 and last traded at $56.11. Approximately 308,676 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 798,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRUS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Merus from $57.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.90.

Merus Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.15 and a beta of 1.12.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.24. The business had revenue of $7.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.94 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 390.36% and a negative return on equity of 44.13%. On average, equities analysts predict that Merus will post -3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Merus news, VP Harry Shuman sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.22, for a total value of $53,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,646.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,300 shares of company stock valued at $1,392,792 over the last 90 days. 4.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lynx1 Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Merus by 32.9% in the first quarter. Lynx1 Capital Management LP now owns 1,509,007 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,951,000 after acquiring an additional 373,782 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the first quarter worth approximately $555,000. Artal Group S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the first quarter worth approximately $20,492,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 542,580 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,427,000 after purchasing an additional 11,536 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.