Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Price Down 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)’s stock price dropped 7.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $39.00 and last traded at $41.20. Approximately 332,799 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 686,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRUS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.31.

Merus Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.91. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.03 and a beta of 1.15.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.57 million. On average, analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.