Merus N.V. $MRUS Stake Boosted by DAFNA Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• DAFNA Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merus N.V. by 2.2%, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.67% of the company, valued at about $19.4 million.
• A significant percentage of Merus N.V. stock, around 96.14%, is held by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the biotechnology firm.
• Merus reported a loss of ($2.23) earnings per share for its latest quarter, which was a miss compared to analysts' expectations of ($1.17), accompanied by revenue of $8.83 million.

DAFNA Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 461,804 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Merus accounts for 5.5% of DAFNA Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. DAFNA Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.67% of Merus worth $19,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Siren L.L.C. grew its stake in Merus by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 1,043,467 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $43,920,000 after purchasing an additional 259,055 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Merus in the 1st quarter valued at $619,000. Carmignac Gestion bought a new position in Merus in the 1st quarter valued at $5,134,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Merus by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $198,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,519 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Merus by 97.3% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 172,063 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,242,000 after purchasing an additional 84,848 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS traded up $0.32 on Wednesday, hitting $66.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 589,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 857,792. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.68. Merus N.V. has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $69.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of -12.11 and a beta of 1.19.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The business 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, equities research analysts expect that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRUS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. HC Wainwright upgraded Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $88.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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.