Federated Hermes Inc. Has $67 Million Stock Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,593,375 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 413,425 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 2.33% of Merus worth $67,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merus by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $144,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 723,988 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $36,171,000 after buying an additional 328,316 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $7,569,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 150,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd bought a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,524,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.31.

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Merus Stock Performance

Shares of Merus stock traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.97. 832,258 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 712,988. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $43.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.63 and a beta of 1.02. Merus has a 12 month low of $33.19 and a 12 month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The firm had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.57 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Merus 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.