Bank of America Corp DE Sells 26,216 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 26,216 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.06% of Merus worth $1,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter worth $146,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter worth $213,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Merus by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter worth $347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MRUS traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.21. 761,871 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 747,831. The company's fifty day moving average price is $44.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.23 and a beta of 1.04. Merus has a 12 month low of $33.19 and a 12 month high of $62.98.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRUS shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $85.83.

Merus 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.