Millennium Management LLC Has $24.68 Million Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC reduced its holdings in Merus N.V. by 33.6%, owning 586,434 shares valued at approximately $24.68 million after selling 297,131 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in Merus, with Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raising their position by 99.4%, now holding shares worth $141.83 million.
• Merus has a consensus rating of "Buy" among analysts, with a target price averaging $88.75, but the company reported a loss of ($2.23) EPS, missing expectations by ($1.06).

Millennium Management LLC lessened its position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 586,434 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 297,131 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.85% of Merus worth $24,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Merus in the 1st quarter worth about $520,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merus by 100.0% in the first quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 160,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,734,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the period. Allostery Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Merus by 473.5% in the first quarter. Allostery Investments LP now owns 124,657 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,247,000 after buying an additional 102,922 shares during the period. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Merus by 99.4% in the first quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $141,831,000 after buying an additional 1,679,777 shares during the period. Finally, DAFNA Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merus by 2.2% in the first quarter. DAFNA Capital Management LLC now owns 461,804 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $19,437,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRUS has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright raised Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.75.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of Merus stock opened at $69.80 on Friday. Merus N.V. has a one year low of $33.19 and a one year high of $70.65. The stock's 50-day moving average is $63.77 and its 200 day moving average is $52.73. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.69 and a beta of 1.19.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($1.06). Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. The business had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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