Novo Holdings A S Increases Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Novo Holdings A S boosted its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 700,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Merus accounts for approximately 1.7% of Novo Holdings A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Novo Holdings A S owned 1.19% of Merus worth $34,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 750.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the first quarter worth about $108,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Merus by 24.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merus during the second quarter valued at approximately $237,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merus Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.06. The stock had a trading volume of 360,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 703,806. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $51.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.02. Merus has a one year low of $19.81 and a one year high of $61.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.17 and a beta of 1.11.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. Equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRUS. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.09.

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.