Insider Buying: Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Major Shareholder Buys 150,795 Shares of Stock

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) major shareholder A/S Genmab purchased 150,795 shares of Merus stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $14,627,115.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 71,734,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,258,528. This trade represents a 0.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

A/S Genmab also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, December 16th, A/S Genmab purchased 120,752 shares of Merus stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $11,712,944.00.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ MRUS traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $96.80. 820,454 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,275,767. Merus N.V. has a 12-month low of $33.19 and a 12-month high of $96.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.26 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRUS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial downgraded Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $97.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merus by 10,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Merus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Merus by 299.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Merus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

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.