Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Holdings Lifted by BIT Capital GmbH

BIT Capital GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 167.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 13,402 shares during the period. BIT Capital GmbH’s holdings in Merus were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Merus by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Merus by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,954 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,951,000 after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Merus by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at $347,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.31.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS opened at $44.45 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.77 and its 200-day moving average is $46.13. Merus has a 12-month low of $37.77 and a 12-month high of $61.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.25 and a beta of 1.15.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.57 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merus 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.