Merus N.V. $MRUS Shares Acquired by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 72.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,850 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Merus were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merus by 15.7% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,674 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Merus by 66.7% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 26,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merus by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 78,280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,295,000 after buying an additional 16,280 shares during the last quarter. Atle Fund Management AB boosted its position 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 worth $3,150,000 after acquiring an additional 24,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position 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 worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRUS. Citigroup downgraded Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $101.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, October 6th. Lifesci Capital reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.56.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In other Merus news, VP Harry Shuman sold 8,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.92, for a total value of $796,136.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 11,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,311.84. This trade represents a 43.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merus Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ MRUS opened at $96.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.13 and a beta of 1.06. Merus N.V. has a 52-week low of $33.19 and a 52-week high of $96.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.16.

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.