Swiss National Bank Cuts Stake in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 92,854 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.13% of Merus worth $3,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 2,153.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Merus by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Merus in the fourth quarter worth $84,000. Institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRUS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Merus from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. HC Wainwright raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Merus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $64.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.71 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.00. Merus N.V. has a 52-week low of $33.19 and a 52-week high of $67.59.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The company had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.