abrdn plc Invests $4.36 Million in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

abrdn plc purchased a new stake in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 87,215 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,357,000. abrdn plc owned about 0.13% of Merus at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merus by 24.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Merus by 2.9% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 74,054 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 750.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRUS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday. Finally, Lifesci Capital upgraded Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merus presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.70.

Merus Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Merus stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Monday, hitting $51.23. 340,515 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 694,719. Merus has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $61.61. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $50.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.73 and a beta of 1.12.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 43.29%. The business had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merus will post -3.27 EPS for the current year.

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.