Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Acquired by Baker BROS. Advisors LP

Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 450,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Baker BROS. Advisors LP owned 0.66% of Merus worth $18,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. FMR LLC boosted its position in Merus by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,899,521 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $290,125,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,497,653 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $147,076,000 after purchasing an additional 610,139 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Merus by 7.1% during 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. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merus by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,356,000 after purchasing an additional 770,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,895,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,105,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 717,685. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.79 and its 200-day moving average is $44.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 0.94.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. As a group, analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRUS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.31.

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.