Merck & Co. Inc. Invests $9.04 Billion in Sutro Biopharma, Inc. $STRO

Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRO) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 272,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,042,053,000. Sutro Biopharma makes up about 1.7% of Merck & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Velan Capital Investment Management LP raised its position in Sutro Biopharma by 2.0% during the third quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP now owns 3,120,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Sutro Biopharma by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,845,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 226,955 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sutro Biopharma by 1,052.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,320,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,330 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sutro Biopharma by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,069,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,642,000 after purchasing an additional 321,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sutro Biopharma in the 1st quarter valued at about $19,956,000. 96.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sutro Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STRO opened at $22.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $369.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.07. Sutro Biopharma, Inc. has a one year low of $7.15 and a one year high of $43.85.

Sutro Biopharma (NASDAQ:STRO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($2.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.19) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $9.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.96 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sutro Biopharma, Inc. will post -8.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STRO. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Sutro Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $50.00 price target on Sutro Biopharma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Sutro Biopharma from $41.00 to $34.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Sutro Biopharma from $28.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $48.00 target price on Sutro Biopharma and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sutro Biopharma has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.30.

About Sutro Biopharma

Sutro Biopharma, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel biologic drug candidates in the fields of oncology and immunology. The company leverages a proprietary cell-free protein synthesis platform, XpressCF™, to design and produce complex, multi-specific proteins that include antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, and cytokine fusion proteins. This platform enables rapid generation and optimization of protein therapeutics that may not be feasible with traditional cell-based expression systems.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Sutro Biopharma has built a pipeline of immuno-oncology candidates in various stages of preclinical and clinical development.