KBC Group NV Has $122,000 Stock Position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS)

KBC Group NV trimmed its position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 94.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,901 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 54,333 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Merus were worth $122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 45,680 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 113,056 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,754,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRUS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $84.64.

Merus Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.33. 450,998 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 919,148. Merus N.V. has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $62.98. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.83 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.33.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

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.