Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management Inc. has made a new investment of $589,000 in Merus N.V. by acquiring 13,984 shares during Q1, according to their 13F filing with the SEC.
• Merus reported a loss of ($1.40) EPS in its latest quarterly earnings, missing analysts' estimates, despite revenue significantly exceeding expectations at $26.49 million.
• Analyst ratings for Merus are mixed, with an average price target of $86.40, as one firm rated it "sell" while eleven others have given it a "buy" rating.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake 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. The institutional investor purchased 13,984 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth $84,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Merus Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MRUS stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.36. 131,318 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,359. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $57.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.49. Merus N.V. has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $67.59. The company has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.47 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.57% 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.