Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 49.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,374 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,166 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Merus worth $2,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, May 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.83.

Merus Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.61. The stock had a trading volume of 711,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,264. The business's 50 day moving average is $46.42 and its 200-day moving average is $44.29. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.83 and a beta of 1.04. Merus has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $62.98.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $26.49 million for 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 expect 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.