Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Invests $2.34 Million in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 52,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,342,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.09% of Merus at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Great Point Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $550,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Merus by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 102,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 40,060 shares during the last quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth about $669,000. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in Merus by 138.4% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 40,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 23,503 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,320,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merus news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Harry Shuman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total value of $317,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,335.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,300 shares of company stock valued at $1,392,792. 4.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRUS shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Merus from $90.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Merus from $57.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.90.

Merus Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MRUS traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.32. The company had a trading volume of 359,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 795,131. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of -19.75 and a beta of 1.12. Merus has a 1-year low of $19.81 and a 1-year high of $61.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.46.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.24. The company had revenue of $7.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.94 million. Merus had a negative return on equity of 44.13% and a negative net margin of 390.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.