Avanza Fonder AB Raises Stock Holdings in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Avanza Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,136 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Merus were worth $165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atle Fund Management AB increased its position in shares of Merus by 69.7% during the second quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 59,889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after acquiring an additional 24,597 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 69.2% during the second quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 5,780 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 26.3% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 78,280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 16,280 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Merus by 14.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 112,522 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,736,000 after acquiring an additional 13,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Merus by 17.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,400,171 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,933,000 after acquiring an additional 211,653 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock worth $2,792,500 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $69.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.58 and a beta of 1.19. Merus N.V. has a 52-week low of $33.19 and a 52-week high of $70.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.78 and a 200 day moving average of $53.94.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The business had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. Equities analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. HC Wainwright raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $90.54.

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.