Merus N.V. $MRUS Stock Holdings Lifted by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merus N.V. by 34.9%, acquiring over 1.2 million shares, which brings its total ownership to approximately 6.82% of the company.
• Multiple institutional investors have also made significant changes to their stakes in Merus, with firms like Boxer Capital Management and Westfield Capital investing heavily in the company.
• Despite a high average rating of "Buy" from analysts, Merus reported a significantly larger-than-expected loss of ($2.23) EPS in its latest quarterly earnings, missing estimates by ($1.06).

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 34.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,220,519 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 6.82% of Merus worth $198,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRUS. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter worth about $79,895,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Merus by 51.2% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,501,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,186,000 after purchasing an additional 508,063 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its stake in Merus by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,706,238 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,747,000 after purchasing an additional 439,186 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Merus by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 883,565 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $37,154,000 after purchasing an additional 411,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artia Global Partners LP boosted its stake in Merus by 478.6% in the fourth quarter. Artia Global Partners LP now owns 463,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $19,504,000 after acquiring an additional 383,669 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRUS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Merus Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:MRUS traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.86. 786,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 571,521. Merus N.V. has a one year low of $33.19 and a one year high of $68.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.16 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.78.

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 return on equity of 50.28% and a negative net margin of 685.64%.The firm had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merus 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.