US Bancorp DE Increases Stock Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 324.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,935 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying 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 hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Merus by 2,153.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 27.3% during the fourth 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. bought a new position in shares of Merus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merus Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MRUS opened at $67.25 on Monday. Merus N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $67.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.63. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.23 and a beta of 1.09.

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 net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. The firm had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 million. Research analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on shares of Merus and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $1,793,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.