Carmignac Gestion Acquires Shares of 121,161 Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

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Carmignac Gestion acquired a new position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 121,161 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,134,000. Carmignac Gestion owned about 0.18% of Merus as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merus by 34.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $198,588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220,519 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,356,000 after purchasing an additional 770,000 shares during the last quarter. Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter worth $79,895,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its holdings in Merus by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,706,238 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,747,000 after buying an additional 439,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,501,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,186,000 after acquiring an additional 508,063 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction on 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRUS. HC Wainwright raised Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Merus Trading Up 1.3%

MRUS stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.49. 698,628 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,369. Merus N.V. has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $68.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.27 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.44.

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

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.