Merus N.V. $MRUS Shares Sold by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Merus N.V. by 58.5% during the first quarter, now holding 12,998 shares worth $547,000.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their holdings in Merus, with Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP growing their stake by 99.4% to 3,369,699 shares valued at $141.8 million.
• Merus recently received mixed analyst ratings, with Wall Street Zen downgrading to a "sell" while BMO Capital Markets set a target price of $110 and a rating of "outperform."

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lowered its position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 58.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,998 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 18,356 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Merus were worth $547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ MRUS traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.55. 519,287 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 555,864. Merus N.V. has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $69.20. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $63.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.47. The company has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of -12.46 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright raised shares of Merus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on Merus and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merus currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.75.

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.