Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP Acquires 1,679,777 Shares of Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP increased its stake in Merus N.V. by 99.4% in Q1, making it the fund's 4th largest position with a total of 3,369,699 shares.
• Insiders, including COO Peter B. Silverman, have sold 82,500 shares worth approximately $4.6 million in the last quarter, while insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.
• Merus reported earnings of ($2.23) per share for the quarter, missing estimates, with a negative net margin of 685.64% and revenue of $8.83 million against predictions of $9.77 million.

Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 99.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 1,679,777 shares during the period. Merus makes up 6.7% of Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP owned approximately 4.87% of Merus worth $141,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DAFNA Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merus by 2.2% during the first quarter. DAFNA Capital Management LLC now owns 461,804 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $19,437,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Merus by 33.0% during the first quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 1,043,467 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $43,920,000 after buying an additional 259,055 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Merus during the first quarter worth about $619,000. Carmignac Gestion bought a new position in Merus during the first quarter worth about $5,134,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merus by 34.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $198,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,519 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRUS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 target price on Merus in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS traded down $0.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $66.24. 300,045 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,191. Merus N.V. has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $69.20. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.04 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.79.

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 the consensus estimate 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 predict that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current 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 shares were sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.