State Street Corp Sells 9,809 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

State Street Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 255,064 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,809 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 0.37% of Merus worth $12,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Merus by 813.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,682,000 after purchasing an additional 853,060 shares in the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,294,000. Novo Holdings A S bought a new stake in Merus in the second quarter valued at $39,940,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Merus by 10.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,873,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $343,421,000 after acquiring an additional 648,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Merus during the third quarter valued at $30,399,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Price Performance

Merus stock opened at $42.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.98. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $27.11 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. As a group, analysts predict that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRUS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.64.

Merus Company 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.