Merus Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Key Points

• Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 3,292 put options traded, representing a 182% increase over the typical volume.
• Insider trading showed COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares valued at $1.5 million, with total insider sales in the last three months amounting to approximately $2.79 million.
• Merus reported a loss per share of $2.23 in its most recent quarter, missing analyst expectations and reflecting a negative return on equity of 50.28%.

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 3,292 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 182% compared to the typical volume of 1,169 put options.

Insider Activity at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock worth $2,792,500 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Sender Co & Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the second quarter valued at $684,000. Sofinnova Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the second quarter valued at $21,280,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the second quarter valued at $627,000. Octagon Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merus by 26.3% in the second quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 389,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,461,000 after acquiring an additional 81,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merus by 2.6% in the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 708,176 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,250,000 after acquiring an additional 17,691 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merus Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:MRUS traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $94.09. 4,140,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,312. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.38. Merus has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $94.56. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.11 and a beta of 1.26.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. HC Wainwright lowered Merus from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered Merus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.88.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.