Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,593,375 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 413,425 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 2.33% of Merus worth $67,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the third quarter valued at $206,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its position in shares of Merus by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter worth $358,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Merus in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.31.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $38.11 on Monday. Merus has a 1-year low of $36.46 and a 1-year high of $61.61. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.72.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.48. The company had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.57 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merus 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.