Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 117,398 Shares of Merus N.V. $MRUS

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 48.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 117,398 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.18% of Merus worth $5,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 955.3% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of Merus stock opened at $66.90 on Wednesday. Merus N.V. has a one year low of $33.19 and a one year high of $70.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.16 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.25.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 50.28% and a negative net margin of 685.64%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 82,500 shares of company stock worth $4,586,340 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRUS has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $90.00 target price on Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on Merus in a report on Monday, August 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.75.

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.