US Bancorp DE Boosts Holdings in Merus N.V. $MRUS

US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 324.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,935 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Merus were worth $124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merus Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $67.25 on Monday. Merus N.V. has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $67.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.23 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.63.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) 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 business had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 million. Equities analysts predict that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRUS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. HC Wainwright upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Merus and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merus

In other 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.