KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $433,000 in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 17.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 84,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,207,000 after acquiring an additional 12,212 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter worth about $358,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Merus by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,573 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Merus by 4,583.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 57,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 56,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in Merus by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 48,268 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after buying an additional 10,842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRUS shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Down 8.7 %

Shares of Merus stock opened at $38.11 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.02. Merus has a 12 month low of $36.46 and a 12 month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.48. The business had revenue of $9.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.57 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. Analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merus Company 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.