D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 359,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 304,541 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Merus worth $15,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of 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. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake 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 worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 10,842 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Merus by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,954 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,951,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 450,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,922,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRUS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.15.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS opened at $42.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.04. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current 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.

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