Ally Bridge Group NY LLC Has $3.28 Million Stock Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• Ally Bridge Group NY LLC has reduced its stake in Merus N.V. by 33.3%, now holding 77,896 shares, which make up about 2.9% of its portfolio.
• Various other institutional investors, including Wellington Management Group LLC and Paradigm Biocapital Advisors, have significantly increased their positions in Merus in the first quarter.
• Merus reported a loss of ($2.23) earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, and has a current average target price of $88.75, with multiple analysts rating the stock as "Buy."

Ally Bridge Group NY LLC cut its stake in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 33.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,896 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 38,900 shares during the period. Merus makes up approximately 2.9% of Ally Bridge Group NY LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Ally Bridge Group NY LLC owned 0.11% of Merus worth $3,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter worth about $347,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Merus by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 76,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,210,000 after purchasing an additional 28,983 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at $5,734,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 target price on Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. HC Wainwright upgraded Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Insider Activity at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 635,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,936. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $62.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.14. Merus N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $69.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.27 and a beta of 1.19.

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