Investors Purchase Large Volume of Merus Put Options (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 3,292 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 182% compared to the average daily volume of 1,169 put options.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS opened at $94.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.12 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.94 and a 200-day moving average of $55.71. Merus has a 12-month low of $33.19 and a 12-month high of $94.56.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $8.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 million. On average, analysts expect that Merus will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merus

In related news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 48,500 shares of company stock worth $2,792,500 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merus

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Merus by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 78,280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after buying an additional 16,280 shares during the period. Atle Fund Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 69.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 59,889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 24,597 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 324.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,935 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Merus by 30.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MRUS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC cut Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $96.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merus from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Lifesci Capital reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.88.

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.