Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 273.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,281 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 79,286 shares during the quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Merus worth $4,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter worth about $347,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 2,153.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Merus by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Merus by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 76,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,210,000 after buying an additional 28,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at about $817,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.
Merus Price Performance
NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $53.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,588. Merus N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $62.98. The firm's 50 day moving average is $49.89 and its 200-day moving average is $45.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.16 and a beta of 1.00.
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 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 business had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MRUS has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on shares of Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.64.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Merus
About Merus
(
Free Report)
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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