37,426 Shares in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Acquired by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 37,426 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,870,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.05% of Merus as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 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 during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Merus by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 74,054 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merus by 750.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the first quarter valued at about $72,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRUS. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.70.

Merus Stock Down 5.0 %

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $44.27 on Tuesday. Merus has a 52 week low of $22.26 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of -11.36 and a beta of 1.12.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The firm had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.