Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $46.12 Million Stock Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Merus N.V. by 1.9%, owning approximately 1.58% of the company worth $46.12 million after selling 21,078 shares in Q1.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their stakes in Merus, with Wellington Management Group LLP's ownership growing by 34.9% in Q1, marking significant interest from hedge funds.
• Merus recently reported a miss in quarterly earnings, with an EPS of ($2.23), which was below the consensus estimate of ($1.17), highlighting ongoing financial challenges despite its potential in immuno-oncology.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,095,742 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 21,078 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 1.58% of Merus worth $46,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter worth $347,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 324.1% during the first 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 30.0% during the first 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 period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 704,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,232. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $61.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.05 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 announced 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 during 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MRUS shares. Alliance Global Partners started coverage on Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 price objective on Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. HC Wainwright raised Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Merus

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.