Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Purchased by OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,540 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Merus were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake 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 stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new position in Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $146,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of MRUS opened at $40.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.36 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.96. Merus has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. On average, analysts predict that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRUS shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.15.

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.