Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Purchased by Driehaus Capital Management LLC

Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 323,518 shares during the quarter. Merus comprises 0.9% of Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merus were worth $91,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the first quarter worth approximately $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Merus during the 1st quarter worth $108,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the second quarter valued at $237,000. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the second quarter valued at about $242,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 160.7% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRUS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of 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 reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.20.

Merus Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $47.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.23 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a one year low of $19.81 and a one year high of $61.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.95.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.27 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.