Bellevue Group AG Decreases Stock Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Bellevue Group AG cut its holdings in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 49.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 21,800 shares during the quarter. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in Merus were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Merus by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,354 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 28,400 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Merus by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 774,953 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,273,000 after purchasing an additional 180,397 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Merus by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,885,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,045,000 after purchasing an additional 247,000 shares in the last quarter. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,061,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $401,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRUS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Merus from $54.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merus from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.70.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS opened at $53.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.84. Merus has a 1 year low of $19.81 and a 1 year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.24. Merus had a negative net margin of 390.36% and a negative return on equity of 44.13%. The company had revenue of $7.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.94 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In other Merus news, VP Harry Shuman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total value of $317,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,335.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.