Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Purchased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.37% of Merus worth $10,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRUS. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merus by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 43,208 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,833 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Merus in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 705,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,491. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.58. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $61.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.19 and a beta of 1.02.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The company had revenue of $9.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.57 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share 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.