Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) COO Peter B. Silverman Sells 34,000 Shares

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Merus Trading Down 0.4%

MRUS stock opened at $52.99 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $48.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.87. Merus N.V. has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $62.98. The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.99 and a beta of 1.04.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 35.99% and a negative net margin of 506.73%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 78,280 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,295,000 after buying an additional 16,280 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Merus by 14.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 112,522 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,736,000 after acquiring an additional 13,778 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 17.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,400,171 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $58,933,000 after purchasing an additional 211,653 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merus by 1.4% in the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 47,956 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter worth approximately $520,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRUS shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, March 28th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.64.

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.