Fred Alger Management LLC Has $2.90 Million Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its holdings in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 4,870 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Merus worth $2,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $675,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merus by 26.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,714,000 after acquiring an additional 323,518 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 90.6% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,848,000 after acquiring an additional 247,813 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,870,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $44.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.35 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.91 and a 200-day moving average of $51.85. Merus has a one year low of $22.27 and a one year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRUS shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.45.

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.