Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Lifesci Capital

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Lifesci Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MRUS. Alliance Global Partners started coverage on Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $72.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright lowered Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $97.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.88.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS opened at $94.15 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of -17.12 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.12. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $94.56.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($1.06). Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. The company had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,792,500. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Merus by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 78,280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after purchasing an additional 16,280 shares during the last quarter. Atle Fund Management AB boosted its stake in Merus by 69.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 59,889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 24,597 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Merus by 324.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,935 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Merus by 2,153.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Merus by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.