Siren L.L.C. Purchases 259,055 Shares of Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• Siren L.L.C. has increased its stake in Merus N.V. by 33.0%, making it the firm's 10th largest holding, accounting for 2.5% of total assets.
• Merus reported a disappointing earnings result with an EPS of ($2.23), missing analysts' expectations and recording a negative net margin of 685.64% for the quarter.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on Merus, with one brokerage downgrading it to a "sell" while others have set target prices ranging from $90.00 to $110.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Buy."

Siren L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 33.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,043,467 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 259,055 shares during the period. Merus comprises approximately 2.5% of Siren L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Siren L.L.C. owned 1.51% of Merus worth $43,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% in 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. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,753 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 0.7% in the fourth 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 period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.7% in the first quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 13,785 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 0.4% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 price target on Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $88.75.

Merus Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MRUS stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $65.84. 542,641 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 589,242. The stock's 50 day moving average is $61.26 and its 200-day moving average is $51.40. The company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.97 and a beta of 1.19. Merus N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $69.20.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the company'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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merus 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.