Polar Capital Holdings Plc Grows Stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 34.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,706,238 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 439,186 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in Merus were worth $71,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Merus by 4,583.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 57,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after acquiring an additional 56,012 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Merus by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,517 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 48,268 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 10,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 331,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,927,000 after purchasing an additional 58,760 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merus Trading Down 1.3%

MRUS stock opened at $40.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of -10.23 and a beta of 0.94. Merus has a 12 month low of $33.19 and a 12 month high of $61.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.92.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRUS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Merus in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.15.

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.