Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Sold by HighVista Strategies LLC

HighVista Strategies LLC lowered its stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,718 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 4,962 shares during the period. Merus comprises 2.5% of HighVista Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. HighVista Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Merus worth $6,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Merus by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Merus during the first quarter worth approximately $108,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the second quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Merus by 160.7% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $49.67 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a 1 year low of $19.81 and a 1 year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $7.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MRUS. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Merus from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.20.

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.