Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) is Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C's 9th Largest Position

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C trimmed its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,972,787 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 435,752 shares during the quarter. Merus makes up about 2.4% of Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C owned 4.34% of Merus worth $125,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merus by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 450,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,922,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Merus by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 173,114 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,279,000 after buying an additional 19,390 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,734,000. Allostery Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $914,000. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $79,895,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRUS shares. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler started coverage on Merus in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.15.

Merus Trading Down 3.4 %

MRUS stock traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.32. 556,197 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,048. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 0.94. Merus has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $61.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.04.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The company had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current 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.