Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock Position Trimmed by Medicxi Ventures Management Jersey Ltd

Medicxi Ventures Management Jersey Ltd cut its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 26.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,169,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 430,972 shares during the quarter. Merus comprises 11.7% of Medicxi Ventures Management Jersey Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Medicxi Ventures Management Jersey Ltd’s holdings in Merus were worth $52,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great Point Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Merus during the fourth quarter worth about $550,000. RTW Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Merus by 90.0% in the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 1,996,764 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,084,000 after buying an additional 945,871 shares in the last quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter valued at about $669,000. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Merus by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 40,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after buying an additional 23,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,320,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRUS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Merus from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Merus from $57.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Merus from $54.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Harry Shuman sold 7,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.84, for a total value of $422,232.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,995.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 14,300 shares of company stock valued at $792,792 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Merus Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:MRUS traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $56.99. 724,212 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 790,617. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.39. Merus has a 52 week low of $19.81 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.57 and a beta of 1.10.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.24. Merus had a negative return on equity of 44.13% and a negative net margin of 390.36%. The company had revenue of $7.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.94 million. As a group, analysts expect that Merus will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current 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.