Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,254 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Merus were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRUS. Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,895,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,356,000 after buying an additional 770,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,497,653 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $147,076,000 after buying an additional 610,139 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at $19,029,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its holdings 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 valued at $71,747,000 after buying an additional 439,186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Up 2.8%

Merus stock opened at $56.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of -13.85 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.89. Merus N.V. has a 12 month low of $33.19 and a 12 month high of $62.98.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). Merus had a negative net margin of 506.73% and a negative return on equity of 35.99%. The firm had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 16,805 shares of Merus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $924,275.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,500 shares of company stock worth $3,086,340. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRUS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merus from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.64.

Merus Company 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.