Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd Makes New $3.52 Million Investment in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd acquired a new stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 83,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,524,000. Merus comprises approximately 5.7% of Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merus by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,573 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Merus by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 723,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,171,000 after purchasing an additional 328,316 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,569,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Merus by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,256,504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $117,722,000 after buying an additional 150,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 796,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,512,000 after acquiring an additional 66,326 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRUS shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.31.

Merus Stock Down 8.7 %

MRUS stock opened at $38.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.74. Merus has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve month high of $61.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.02.

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