BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 7,006 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 187,548 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,006 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Merus were worth $7,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 43,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 4,583.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 57,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 56,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,517 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS stock opened at $41.32 on Monday. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.04.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The company had revenue of $26.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.82 million. Research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MRUS shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Merus in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.15.

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.