Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Acquires 16,868 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 42.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 16,868 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned 0.10% of Merus worth $3,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Merus by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 243,257 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,394,000 after acquiring an additional 92,987 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $30,848,000 after purchasing an additional 247,813 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its holdings in 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 valued at $162,682,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Decheng Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 75.9% in the second quarter. Decheng Capital LLC now owns 179,098 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,597,000 after buying an additional 77,300 shares during the period. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the second quarter valued at about $7,396,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MRUS shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.20.

Merus Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS opened at $47.74 on Monday. Merus has a twelve month low of $19.81 and a twelve month high of $61.61. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of -17.23 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.01.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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.