T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 808,576 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 21,692 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 1.18% of Merus worth $34,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Silverarc Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC now owns 680,845 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,630,000 after acquiring an additional 45,406 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merus by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,356,000 after buying an additional 770,000 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,029,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merus by 140.7% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 389,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $16,368,000 after purchasing an additional 227,500 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $427,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRUS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $85.31.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS stock traded up $0.46 on Wednesday, hitting $45.51. The stock had a trading volume of 308,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,611. The company's 50 day moving average price is $44.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.62. Merus has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $61.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.52 and a beta of 1.02.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The company had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.57 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS 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.