Merus N.V. $MRUS Stock Position Decreased by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210,304 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 23,167 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Merus worth $19,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP lifted its stake in Merus by 99.4% in the first quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $141,831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679,777 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merus by 1,007.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,133,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,457 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Merus in the second quarter worth $43,837,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Merus by 36.0% during the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,042,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $107,430,000 after buying an additional 541,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Merus by 46.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,528,587 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,404,000 after buying an additional 483,962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Merus stock opened at $97.01 on Monday. Merus N.V. has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $97.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.05. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.30 and a beta of 1.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC cut Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $96.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup downgraded Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $101.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners started coverage on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder A/S Genmab acquired 150,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $14,627,115.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 71,734,624 shares in the company, valued at $6,958,258,528. This trade represents a 0.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Shuman sold 8,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.92, for a total transaction of $796,136.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 11,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,311.84. The trade was a 43.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merus Profile

Merus NV is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of bispecific antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Utilizing its proprietary Biclonics® platform, Merus engineers fully human bispecific antibodies designed to engage immune cells and tumor targets simultaneously. The company’s research efforts are aimed at creating novel therapies with optimized potency, selectivity and safety profiles.

The Merus pipeline encompasses multiple Biclonics candidates in various stages of preclinical and clinical development.