Great Point Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Great Point Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 52.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 250,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 273,288 shares during the period. Merus accounts for approximately 3.7% of Great Point Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Great Point Partners LLC’s holdings in Merus were worth $12,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 750.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in Merus during the 3rd quarter worth about $103,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Merus by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Merus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Merus stock opened at $45.87 on Wednesday. Merus has a 52 week low of $22.26 and a 52 week high of $61.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.30 and its two-hundred day moving average 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.05). Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The company had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.11 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRUS has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.45.

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.