Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS – Get Rating) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 254,236 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 81% from the previous session’s volume of 140,309 shares.The stock last traded at $14.75 and had previously closed at $14.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRUS has been the topic of several research reports. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on Merus from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 4th. EF Hutton Acquisition Co. I assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Merus from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, SVB Leerink cut their target price on Merus from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Merus Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.02. The company has a market capitalization of $691.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 0.79.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.76 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 20.48% and a negative net margin of 139.04%. On average, research analysts predict that Merus will post -1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merus

In related news, CEO Sven Ante Lundberg acquired 14,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.38 per share, for a total transaction of $211,472.28. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 40,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,482.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Merus by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,347 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merus by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 121,157 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after purchasing an additional 39,479 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter worth about $403,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 394,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,426,000 after purchasing an additional 78,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merus by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. 79.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Merus

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Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the discovery and development of bispecific 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, as well as in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors that harbor Neuregulin 1.