Northern Trust Corp Acquires 28,983 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 61.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 28,983 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.11% of Merus worth $3,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth $213,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado bought a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,000. Artia Global Partners LP boosted its holdings in Merus by 478.6% during the 4th quarter. Artia Global Partners LP now owns 463,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $19,504,000 after acquiring an additional 383,669 shares during the period. Tri Locum Partners LP lifted its holdings in Merus by 80.7% during the 4th quarter. Tri Locum Partners LP now owns 347,303 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $14,604,000 after buying an additional 155,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Merus Trading Up 10.7%

MRUS traded up $5.36 on Thursday, reaching $55.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,134,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,858. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.12 and a 200-day moving average of $43.53. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $61.28.

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 return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The business had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.82 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal 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.