Great Point Partners LLC Increases Stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Great Point Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 134.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 523,288 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the quarter. Merus accounts for about 5.9% of Great Point Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Great Point Partners LLC owned about 0.89% of Merus worth $30,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Commodore Capital LP raised its position in shares of Merus by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,747,373 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,553,000 after buying an additional 319,301 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,398,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,937,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,373,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,275,000 after purchasing an additional 376,861 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 2,324,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $137,523,000 after purchasing an additional 247,605 shares during the period. Finally, Lynx1 Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Merus by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Lynx1 Capital Management LP now owns 1,509,007 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $67,951,000 after purchasing an additional 373,782 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merus Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of Merus stock opened at $47.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.97. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.25 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a 12 month low of $19.81 and a 12 month high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 36.33% and a negative net margin of 476.41%. Analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRUS shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of Merus 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Merus 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.