Sanders Morris Harris LLC Buys Shares of 24,870 Merus N.V. $MRUS

Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new stake in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,870 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,342,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Merus by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,674 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB grew its position in Merus by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 3,136 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Merus by 299.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merus by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 47,956 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in shares of Merus by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 10,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merus Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MRUS opened at $96.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.29 and a beta of 1.06. Merus N.V. has a 52-week low of $33.19 and a 52-week high of $96.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRUS. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (down from $112.00) on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. William Blair downgraded Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Truist Financial cut Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $88.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.56.

Insider Activity at Merus

In other Merus news, VP Harry Shuman sold 8,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.92, for a total value of $796,136.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,002 shares in the company, valued at $1,055,311.84. This trade represents a 43.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.