Sio Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Sio Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 82.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,564 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 72,389 shares during the quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merus were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Merus by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,347 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Merus by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 121,157 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 39,479 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Merus in the 1st quarter worth $403,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Merus by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 394,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,426,000 after acquiring an additional 78,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.68% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $23.44 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.14. Merus has a twelve month low of $12.03 and a twelve month high of $27.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.07 and a beta of 0.84.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.86) by $0.20. Merus had a negative net margin of 432.68% and a negative return on equity of 69.89%. The company had revenue of $10.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merus will post -3.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRUS shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Merus from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merus presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

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.