Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stock Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Merus N.V. by 7.2% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 1.07% of the company valued at $31.1 million.
• Other hedge funds have significantly increased their holdings, with Allostery Investments LP raising its stake by 473.5% and Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP increasing theirs by 99.4% in the same period.
• Merus reported a quarterly loss of ($2.23) EPS, missing estimates, along with revenue of $8.83 million, which also fell short of expectations.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 739,288 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 57,669 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.07% of Merus worth $31,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Merus by 324.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,935 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Merus by 2,153.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merus by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Merus by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 76,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,210,000 after purchasing an additional 28,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Stock Down 0.3%

MRUS traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.58. 1,237,295 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,666. The business's 50 day moving average is $64.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.91. Merus N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $70.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.65 and a beta of 1.19.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The firm had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRUS has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. HC Wainwright raised shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.