UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 14,544 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,544 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.14% of Merus worth $4,152,000 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. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 45,680 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Merus by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 113,056 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,754,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merus by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Merus by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ: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 business's 50-day moving average price is $44.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.95. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $62.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.23 and a beta of 1.04.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRUS. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on shares of Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merus presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.83.

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.