Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) VP Sells $53,220.00 in Stock

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) VP Harry Shuman sold 1,000 shares of Merus stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.22, for a total value of $53,220.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,646.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Harry Shuman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 12th, Harry Shuman sold 7,300 shares of Merus stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.84, for a total transaction of $422,232.00.
• On Tuesday, June 4th, Harry Shuman sold 6,000 shares of Merus stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $317,340.00.

Merus Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $56.55 on Friday. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $19.81 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.54.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.24. The company had revenue of $7.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.94 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 44.13% and a negative net margin of 390.36%. Analysts expect that Merus will post -3.12 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MRUS shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merus from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Merus from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com lowered Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Merus from $57.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Merus by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Merus by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Merus by 2.9% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Merus by 1.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 74,054 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,335,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Merus by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,753 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.