CenterBook Partners LP Sells 51,787 Shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS)

CenterBook Partners LP cut its holdings in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 36.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,088 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 51,787 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP owned about 0.13% of Merus worth $3,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at $79,895,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merus by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $89,356,000 after acquiring an additional 770,000 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merus by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,497,653 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $147,076,000 after acquiring an additional 610,139 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Merus by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,501,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,186,000 after acquiring an additional 508,063 shares during the period. Finally, Gilead Sciences Inc. acquired a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $19,029,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $0.63 on Tuesday, hitting $54.99. The stock had a trading volume of 495,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,228. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.48 and a beta of 1.00. Merus N.V. has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $62.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $51.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.82.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative return on equity of 35.99% and a negative net margin of 506.73%. The company had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.82 million. Equities research analysts predict that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,086,340. 4.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRUS. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merus from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.64.

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.