Mereo BioPharma Group plc – Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:MREO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Mereo BioPharma Group plc – Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:MREO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,535,905 shares, a drop of 39.9% from the June 30th total of 5,883,564 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,096,197 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mereo BioPharma Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mereo BioPharma Group in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1.00 price objective on shares of Mereo BioPharma Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mereo BioPharma Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.25.

Mereo BioPharma Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MREO opened at $0.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $54.70 million, a P/E ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $0.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.35. Mereo BioPharma Group has a 52-week low of $0.20 and a 52-week high of $2.37.

Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.03). As a group, analysts forecast that Mereo BioPharma Group will post -0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mereo BioPharma Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mereo BioPharma Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,125,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,783,000 after purchasing an additional 6,068 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Mereo BioPharma Group by 45.4% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 30,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 9,387 shares in the last quarter. Marex Group plc bought a new position in Mereo BioPharma Group during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Mereo BioPharma Group during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mereo BioPharma Group by 99.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 53,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 26,782 shares in the last quarter. 62.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mereo BioPharma Group Company Profile

Mereo BioPharma Group plc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for rare diseases, oncology and severe respiratory conditions. The company pursues an asset‐centric model, in which it in-licenses or acquires clinical-stage small molecules and monoclonal antibodies with established safety profiles. By concentrating resources on a select number of programs, Mereo aims to accelerate proof-of-concept studies and maximize the potential value of each therapeutic candidate.

Mereo’s pipeline includes investigational therapies for skeletal disorders, such as setrusumab (BPS-804) for osteogenesis imperfecta, and treatments for acute and chronic respiratory diseases.