Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Purchases 328,316 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 83.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 723,988 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 328,316 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 1.06% of Merus worth $36,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $675,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 17.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 84,200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,207,000 after buying an additional 12,212 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 26.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $91,714,000 after buying an additional 323,518 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merus by 90.6% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,848,000 after acquiring an additional 247,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 3rd quarter worth $1,870,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.83. 416,827 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 681,367. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -10.84 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.50. Merus has a one year low of $24.07 and a one year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 million. On average, research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.64.

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.