Novo Holdings A S Raises Stock Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Novo Holdings A S grew its holdings in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 750,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the quarter. Merus comprises 1.9% of Novo Holdings A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Novo Holdings A S owned about 1.10% of Merus worth $31,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Merus by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter worth $146,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merus by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Merus stock traded down $1.26 on Friday, reaching $44.19. 705,630 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 712,091. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -11.19 and a beta of 0.94. Merus has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $61.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.48.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $9.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. Research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MRUS shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $85.31.

Merus Company 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.