Aberdeen Group plc Has $7.24 Million Stock Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 97.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 172,063 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 84,848 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.25% of Merus worth $7,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Merus by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Merus by 955.3% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRUS has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 price target on Merus and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merus from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright upgraded Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Merus

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 82,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,586,340 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Up 1.2%

MRUS stock opened at $64.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of -11.71 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $59.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.00. Merus N.V. has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $67.59.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.17) by ($1.06). The firm had revenue of $8.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 685.64% and a negative return on equity of 50.28%. On average, analysts forecast that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Merus Company 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.