Granahan Investment Management LLC Sells 8,842 Shares of Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• Granahan Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Merus N.V. by 8.5%, selling 8,842 shares to hold a total of 95,720 shares worth approximately $4 million.
• Merus reported a quarterly loss of ($2.23) earnings per share, significantly missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) and generating revenue of $8.83 million, which also fell short of expectations.
• Institutional investors currently hold 96.14% of Merus's stock, indicating strong institutional interest, while insider selling totaled 82,500 shares valued at nearly $4.6 million over the last 90 days.

Granahan Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,720 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 8,842 shares during the quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of Merus worth $4,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRUS. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Merus by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 76,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,210,000 after purchasing an additional 28,983 shares during the period. Finally, DAFNA Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. DAFNA Capital Management LLC now owns 451,804 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,998,000 after purchasing an additional 39,231 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MRUS shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 price target on Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. HC Wainwright raised Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Alliance Global Partners started coverage on Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $88.75.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS traded up $1.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.55. The stock had a trading volume of 515,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,819. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.46 and a beta of 1.19. Merus N.V. has a one year low of $33.19 and a one year high of $69.20.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.