Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Acquired by BIT Capital GmbH

Key Points

• BIT Capital GmbH has increased its stake in Merus N.V. by 38.4%, holding 29,612 shares valued at approximately $1.25 million after acquiring an additional 8,210 shares.
• Several other investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Wells Fargo, have also significantly modified their positions in Merus, reflecting strong institutional interest as they own 96.14% of the stock.
• Merus reported a loss of $1.40 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, while also recording a revenue of $26.49 million, well above forecasts of $7.82 million.

BIT Capital GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 38.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,210 shares during the quarter. BIT Capital GmbH's holdings in Merus were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRUS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Merus by 2,153.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Merus by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the company's 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

Merus Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of MRUS stock traded down $1.23 on Thursday, reaching $64.31. 177,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 887,757. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.72 and a beta of 1.09. Merus N.V. has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $67.59. The business's 50 day moving average price is $57.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.32.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 54.01% and a negative net margin of 685.64%. Equities research analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRUS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

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.