Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 751,609 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,637,309 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 751,609 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 6.30% of Merus worth $100,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RTW Investments LP grew its holdings in Merus by 90.0% during the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 1,996,764 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $47,084,000 after purchasing an additional 945,871 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C boosted its stake in Merus by 27.9% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 3,876,938 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $91,418,000 after buying an additional 845,000 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 95.3% during the first quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,613,427 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,687,000 after acquiring an additional 787,340 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 97.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,185,820 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,223,000 after acquiring an additional 584,094 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 213.3% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 609,197 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $16,040,000 after acquiring an additional 414,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $0.66 on Friday, hitting $39.81. 795,015 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 571,636. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.10 and a beta of 1.10. Merus has a 52 week low of $18.21 and a 52 week high of $52.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.09.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $8.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 50.61% and a negative net margin of 352.56%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRUS shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, April 11th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Merus from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Merus from $40.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.33.

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.