Merus N.V. $MRUS Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Merus N.V. by 26.9%, selling 46,295 shares and now holding 0.18% of the company valued at $6.6 million.
• Voya Investment Management and other institutions have increased their holdings in Merus, with Voya raising its position by 26.3% during Q1.
• Merus reported a quarterly EPS of ($2.23), missing estimates, and has received multiple downgrades from research analysts, now holding a consensus rating of "Hold."

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,768 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 46,295 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.18% of Merus worth $6,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 78,280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,295,000 after purchasing an additional 16,280 shares during the last quarter. Atle Fund Management AB raised its position in shares of Merus by 69.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 59,889 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 24,597 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Merus by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,674 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Merus by 324.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,935 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merus by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merus Stock Down 0.1%

MRUS stock opened at $94.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.25 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.05. Merus N.V. has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $95.02.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The firm 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRUS shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merus from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Merus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. HC Wainwright downgraded Merus from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Merus from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $101.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.12.

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.

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