Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $63.43 and last traded at $63.26, with a volume of 1061420 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $61.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRUS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $84.64.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Merus

Merus Stock Up 3.0%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $52.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.02. The company has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.50 and a beta of 1.00.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative return on equity of 35.99% and a negative net margin of 506.73%. The company had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,086,340. Insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $79,895,000. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP increased its stake in Merus by 99.4% in the 1st quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $141,831,000 after buying an additional 1,679,777 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merus by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $198,588,000 after buying an additional 1,220,519 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merus by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,356,000 after buying an additional 770,000 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in Merus by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,501,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $63,186,000 after buying an additional 508,063 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

Further Reading

• Five stocks we like better than Merus
• Stock Dividend Cuts Happen Are You Ready?
• 2025: A Pivotal Year for Smart Glasses As Meta Invests in Ray-Ban
• A Deeper Look at Bid-Ask Spreads
• Unity’s New Ad Solutions Drive Stock to 52-Week High
• What is an Earnings Surprise?
• Why Abbott Laboratories Is a Q2 2025 Buy: Growth & Yield

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Merus Right Now?

Before you consider Merus, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merus wasn't on the list.

While Merus currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here