VR Adviser LLC Has $24.91 Million Stock Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

VR Adviser LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 592,411 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 315,552 shares during the period. Merus accounts for 1.7% of VR Adviser LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. VR Adviser LLC owned 0.87% of Merus worth $24,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado bought a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRUS shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Merus Trading Up 32.5%

Shares of Merus stock traded up $13.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.14. 7,872,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,508. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.96 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.49. Merus has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $61.28.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.