ADAR1 Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• ADAR1 Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Merus N.V. by 17.8%, selling 14,500 shares and retaining approximately 0.10% of the company worth $2,818,000.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Merus, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting by 2,153.6% and Caitong International Asset Management growing its stake by 955.3% in the first quarter.
• Merus reported a disappointing earnings result with a net income of ($2.23) per share, missing the consensus estimate and indicating negative net margins of 685.64%.

ADAR1 Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,960 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 14,500 shares during the quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Merus worth $2,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Merus by 2,153.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Merus by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Merus by 955.3% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merus Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Merus stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 635,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,936. Merus N.V. has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $69.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.14.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRUS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. 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. Needham & Company LLC dropped 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. HC Wainwright raised Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.75.

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.