Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 1,220,519 Shares of Merus N.V. $MRUS

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 34.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,718,172 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,220,519 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 6.82% of Merus worth $198,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $79,895,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of Merus by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,501,220 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,186,000 after buying an additional 508,063 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its stake in shares of Merus by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,706,238 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $71,747,000 after buying an additional 439,186 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merus by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 883,565 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,154,000 after buying an additional 411,184 shares during the period. Finally, Artia Global Partners LP boosted its stake in Merus by 478.6% in the fourth quarter. Artia Global Partners LP now owns 463,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,504,000 after acquiring an additional 383,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on shares of Merus and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merus Trading Up 1.2%

MRUS opened at $64.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.71 and a beta of 1.09. Merus N.V. has a 12 month low of $33.19 and a 12 month high of $67.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.00.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($1.06). Merus had a negative return on equity of 50.28% and a negative net margin of 685.64%.The firm had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.