Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Bought by DAFNA Capital Management LLC

DAFNA Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 451,804 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,231 shares during the period. Merus makes up 4.8% of DAFNA Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. DAFNA Capital Management LLC owned about 0.66% of Merus worth $18,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Merus by 4,583.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 57,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after acquiring an additional 56,012 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Merus by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 48,268 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 10,842 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth about $347,000. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Merus by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,954 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,951,000 after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Merus by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 450,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,922,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $39.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.95 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 simple moving average of $43.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.33.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRUS shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, March 28th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.