Sphera Funds Management LTD. Sells 17,101 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Sphera Funds Management LTD. lessened its position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Free Report) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,532 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 17,101 shares during the period. Sphera Funds Management LTD. owned about 0.19% of Merus worth $5,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $146,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of Merus stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $41.36. 931,684 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 722,123. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.47 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.60. Merus has a 12 month low of $33.19 and a 12 month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. Equities research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $84.54.

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.