Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 1,224,573 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,224,573 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 4.22% of Merus worth $144,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 10.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,873,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $343,421,000 after purchasing an additional 648,994 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 3.8% in the second quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 2,749,401 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $162,682,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,398,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,937,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merus by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 2,324,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,523,000 after acquiring an additional 247,605 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Merus by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,637,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,834,000 after acquiring an additional 64,122 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRUS. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective (down previously from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.27.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $43.74 on Tuesday. Merus has a 52-week low of $22.27 and a 52-week high of $61.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.07 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.91.

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