Ally Bridge Group NY LLC Lowers Holdings in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Ally Bridge Group NY LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 31.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,844 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 81,084 shares during the quarter. Merus comprises 6.2% of Ally Bridge Group NY LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Ally Bridge Group NY LLC owned about 0.30% of Merus worth $10,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter worth $296,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Merus by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 62,825 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 36,160 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in shares of Merus by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 40,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 23,503 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter valued at $1,320,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Merus Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Merus stock opened at $49.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.97. Merus has a 12-month low of $19.81 and a 12-month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 36.33% and a negative net margin of 476.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Merus from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.20.

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.