Tri Locum Partners LP Reduces Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• Tri Locum Partners LP significantly reduced its stake in Merus N.V. by 54.8%, now holding 156,915 shares, which account for about 3.4% of their portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their holdings, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing their stake by an astonishing 2,153.6% during the same period.
• Despite Merus reporting a loss of ($2.23) earnings per share, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Buy" for the stock, with a target price averaging $88.75.

Tri Locum Partners LP lessened its holdings in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 54.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,915 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 190,388 shares during the quarter. Merus accounts for approximately 3.4% of Tri Locum Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Tri Locum Partners LP owned 0.23% of Merus worth $6,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merus by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter worth about $347,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Merus by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 62,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 3,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter worth about $2,268,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRUS. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. HC Wainwright upgraded shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on shares of Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merus currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $65.84. 542,641 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 589,242. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.26 and a 200-day moving average of $51.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.97 and a beta of 1.19. Merus N.V. has a one year low of $33.19 and a one year high of $69.20.

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

Insider Transactions at Merus

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 at this link. Insiders sold a total of 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.