Tri Locum Partners LP Boosts Stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Tri Locum Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 80.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 347,303 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 155,146 shares during the period. Merus makes up about 3.0% of Tri Locum Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Tri Locum Partners LP owned about 0.51% of Merus worth $14,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. FMR LLC raised its stake in Merus by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,899,521 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $290,125,000 after buying an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,497,653 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,076,000 after acquiring an additional 610,139 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Merus by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,256,504 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $117,722,000 after purchasing an additional 150,341 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merus by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $89,356,000 after purchasing an additional 770,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Merus by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,031,827 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $43,388,000 after purchasing an additional 19,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of MRUS stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $45.45. The company had a trading volume of 766,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,714. Merus has a 12-month low of $33.19 and a 12-month high of $61.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.51 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.03 and a 200-day moving average of $44.62.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.48. The company had revenue of $9.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.57 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. On average, analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MRUS. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company 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. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Merus in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merus has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.31.

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.