24,325 Shares in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Acquired by HealthInvest Partners AB

HealthInvest Partners AB purchased a new stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 24,325 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Merus by 142.1% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 871.4% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,564 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 107.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 1,811 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 938 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 $0.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.31. 820,134 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 575,294. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.74. Merus has a 1 year low of $18.21 and a 1 year high of $52.03.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Merus had a negative return on equity of 50.61% and a negative net margin of 352.56%. The business had revenue of $8.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.29 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Merus from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Merus from $40.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Merus from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.50.

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.