Wellington Management Group LLP Grows Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 73.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 4.22% of Merus worth $144,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,031,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Merus by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Merus by 30.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,633 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 9,488 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the second quarter worth $616,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Merus by 41.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,847 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRUS shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday. UBS Group began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.64.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $42.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 440,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,575. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.91. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.07 and a beta of 1.07. Merus has a 52-week low of $22.27 and a 52-week high of $61.61.

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