Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 19,379 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,031,827 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,379 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Merus were worth $43,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd boosted its holdings in Merus by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merus by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth $347,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRUS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.31.

Merus Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $44.61 on Monday. Merus has a 52 week low of $37.77 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of -11.29 and a beta of 1.15.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share 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.