Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) COO Peter B. Silverman Sells 34,000 Shares of Stock

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) COO Peter B. Silverman sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total transaction of $1,793,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Merus Price Performance

Merus stock opened at $54.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.67. Merus N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $62.98. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.27 and a beta of 1.04.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $26.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.82 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 35.99% and a negative net margin of 506.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merus N.V. will post -3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MRUS. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, March 28th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $110.00 target price on Merus and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRUS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Merus by 2,153.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake 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 valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Merus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Merus by 955.3% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 1,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.