Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,085 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,204 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Merus worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Merus by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,636 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 43,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Stock Performance

MRUS stock opened at $41.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 0.94. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $61.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.04.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. As a group, analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MRUS shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One equities research 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 $85.15.

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.