D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys 247,813 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 90.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 247,813 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.89% of Merus worth $30,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,320,000. RTW Investments LP increased its position in shares of Merus by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,373,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,275,000 after acquiring an additional 376,861 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merus by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 888,888 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,444,000 after acquiring an additional 444,444 shares during the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP boosted its stake in Merus by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,747,373 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,553,000 after purchasing an additional 319,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $660,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $47.74 on Friday. Merus has a 52 week low of $19.81 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.23 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.95.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $7.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.27 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRUS shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Merus from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.20.

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.