Insider Buying: Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Major Shareholder Buys $9,319,954.00 in Stock

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) major shareholder A/S Genmab acquired 96,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $9,319,954.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 72,685,899 shares in the company, valued at $7,050,532,203. The trade was a 0.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

A/S Genmab also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 29th, A/S Genmab acquired 1,052,806 shares of Merus stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $102,122,182.00.
• On Friday, December 26th, A/S Genmab bought 2,978 shares of Merus stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $288,866.00.
• On Friday, December 26th, A/S Genmab bought 142,610 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $13,833,170.00.
• On Tuesday, December 23rd, A/S Genmab purchased 561,042 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $54,421,074.00.
• On Monday, December 22nd, A/S Genmab purchased 15,710 shares of Merus stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,523,870.00.
• On Friday, December 19th, A/S Genmab acquired 66,264 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $6,427,608.00.
• On Thursday, December 18th, A/S Genmab acquired 212,177 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $20,581,169.00.
• On Wednesday, December 17th, A/S Genmab bought 150,795 shares of Merus stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $14,627,115.00.
• On Tuesday, December 16th, A/S Genmab purchased 120,752 shares of Merus stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $11,712,944.00.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS opened at $90.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.06. Merus N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $97.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $95.60 and a 200-day moving average of $78.08.

Key Merus News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A/S Genmab has accumulated very large blocks of Merus stock across Dec. 16–29 (including a 1,052,806‑share purchase on Dec. 29 at ~$97/share), raising its stake into the tens of millions of shares — a strong signal of buyer conviction that can underpin the share price. SEC Ownership Filing
• Positive Sentiment: Other institutional investors have also added positions recently, indicating continued institutional interest that supports longer‑term valuation despite near‑term noise. MarketBeat Institutional Ownership
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading in MRUS was temporarily halted for “news pending,” a procedural event that often precedes material announcements and typically increases intraday volatility without indicating direction.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options activity has been reported in MRUS, which can reflect speculative positioning or hedging and tends to raise short‑term volatility but is ambiguous for a sustained direction. Options Flow Report
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Merus has completed the Genmab acquisition and will be delisted from Nasdaq are material — delisting reduces public float and liquidity, can force some holders to sell, and often prompts re‑pricing; this is a likely driver of the intraday sell‑off. TipRanks: Acquisition/Delisting

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $97.00 target price (down previously from $112.00) on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $101.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $97.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Lifesci Capital reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.56.

Institutional Trading of Merus

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP grew its position in Merus by 99.4% in the first quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,777 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Merus during the third quarter valued at about $98,406,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Merus by 1,007.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,133,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,457 shares during the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter worth about $91,326,000. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter worth about $78,672,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merus Company Profile

Merus NV is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of bispecific antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Utilizing its proprietary Biclonics® platform, Merus engineers fully human bispecific antibodies designed to engage immune cells and tumor targets simultaneously. The company’s research efforts are aimed at creating novel therapies with optimized potency, selectivity and safety profiles.

The Merus pipeline encompasses multiple Biclonics candidates in various stages of preclinical and clinical development.