Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stake Boosted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,636 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merus were worth $2,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Merus by 4,583.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 57,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after acquiring an additional 56,012 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Merus by 29.0% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 10,842 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $347,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 7.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,256,504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $117,722,000 after purchasing an additional 150,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 83.0% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 723,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,171,000 after buying an additional 328,316 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRUS. Piper Sandler began coverage on Merus in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $45.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.08 and its 200-day moving average is $44.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.41 and a beta of 1.02. Merus has a 12 month low of $33.19 and a 12 month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The firm had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. Research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.