BIT Capital GmbH Increases Position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS)

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% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 8,210 shares during the period. BIT Capital GmbH's holdings in Merus were worth $1,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted 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 period. 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

Merus Stock Down 1.0%

Merus stock opened at $65.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.82. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.07 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.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 35.99% and a negative net margin of 506.73%. Equities analysts expect that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRUS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.40.

About Merus

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.

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