XTX Topco Ltd Sells 2,100 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

XTX Topco Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 18.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,066 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Merus were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Merus by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,873,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $343,421,000 after acquiring an additional 648,994 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merus by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $144,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,573 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lifted its position in shares of Merus by 3.8% during the second quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 2,749,401 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $162,682,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merus by 6.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,398,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,937,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merus by 11.9% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 2,324,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,523,000 after purchasing an additional 247,605 shares in the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merus Trading Up 3.3 %

MRUS stock opened at $42.83 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.97 and its 200 day moving average is $51.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.84 and a beta of 1.07. Merus has a 1-year low of $24.07 and a 1-year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $11.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.11 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRUS shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Monday, December 9th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target (down from $111.00) on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.64.

Merus 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.