Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS – Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.93, but opened at $45.07. Merus shares last traded at $44.72, with a volume of 94,167 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRUS shares. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.45.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merus

Merus Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of -11.10 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.86.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.11 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the third quarter valued at approximately $675,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 26.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,714,000 after purchasing an additional 323,518 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the first quarter valued at approximately $555,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Merus by 90.6% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,848,000 after acquiring an additional 247,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in Merus in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,377,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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