Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases New Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,440 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $817,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Wexford Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Merus by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 40,386 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 8,386 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Stempoint Capital LP raised its position in Merus by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 614,812 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,853,000 after purchasing an additional 193,590 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,318,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its stake in Merus by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,706,238 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,747,000 after purchasing an additional 439,186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRUS shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on shares of Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS traded up $3.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $62.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,907,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,024. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $63.01. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.57 and its 200-day moving average is $43.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. Analysts forecast 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.