Bellevue Group AG Sells 1,800 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Bellevue Group AG trimmed its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 18.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in Merus were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in Merus by 750.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Merus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Merus by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus in the second quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merus in the second quarter valued at approximately $242,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merus Stock Performance

Merus stock opened at $44.84 on Monday. Merus has a fifty-two week low of $22.27 and a fifty-two week high of $61.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.35 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.85.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative return on equity of 38.89% and a negative net margin of 680.61%. The business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.11 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.45.

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.