Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) is DAFNA Capital Management LLC's 5th Largest Position

DAFNA Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 451,804 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 39,231 shares during the quarter. Merus accounts for about 4.8% of DAFNA Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. DAFNA Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Merus worth $18,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased 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 valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 1.0% during 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 during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. boosted 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 worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Merus by 9.6% during 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 during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRUS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.15.

Merus Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.32. 556,197 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,048. Merus has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The company's 50 day moving average price is $43.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 0.94.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current 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.