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

Medicxi Ventures Management Jersey Ltd lessened its stake in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 26.9% during 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 period. Merus accounts for approximately 11.7% of Medicxi Ventures Management Jersey Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Medicxi Ventures Management Jersey Ltd owned about 1.99% of Merus worth $52,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Merus by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Merus by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Merus by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,753 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 33.6% during the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 12,420 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 3,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merus by 352.3% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 5,204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In other news, VP Harry Shuman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $317,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,335.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 14,300 shares of company stock valued at $792,792 in the last three months. 4.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $56.99. The company had a trading volume of 724,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 790,617. Merus has a 1-year low of $19.81 and a 1-year high of $61.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of -20.57 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.39.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Merus from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.30.

Merus Profile

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.