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

Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd bought a new position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 83,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,524,000. Merus makes up approximately 5.7% of Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Springhill Fund Asset Management HK Co Ltd owned 0.12% of Merus at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merus by 73.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $144,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 83.0% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 723,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,171,000 after acquiring an additional 328,316 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter worth about $7,569,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Merus by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,256,504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $117,722,000 after acquiring an additional 150,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 66,326 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $38.11 on Friday. Merus has a 1-year low of $36.46 and a 1-year high of $61.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.74.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRUS. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.31.

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.