Short Interest in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Decreases By 13.5%

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,640,000 shares, a drop of 13.5% from the January 31st total of 7,680,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 629,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.77.

Merus Price Performance

Merus stock opened at $46.29 on Thursday. Merus has a 12-month low of $37.77 and a 12-month high of $61.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.72 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.65.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The firm had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. Analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.