Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Holdings Lowered by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,195 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.11% of Merus worth $3,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Merus during the first quarter valued at $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Merus during the first quarter valued at $108,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merus during the second quarter valued at $237,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merus during the second quarter valued at $242,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Merus by 160.7% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRUS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Merus from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.00.

Merus Stock Performance

MRUS opened at $51.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of -18.64 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.78 and a 200-day moving average of $50.25. Merus has a 52-week low of $19.81 and a 52-week high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. The business had revenue of $7.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 million. On average, research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.