Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Major Shareholder A/S Genmab Buys 2,978 Shares of Stock

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) major shareholder A/S Genmab bought 2,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $288,866.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 72,831,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,654,239. The trade was a 0.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, December 29th, A/S Genmab purchased 1,052,806 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $102,122,182.00.
• On Friday, December 26th, A/S Genmab acquired 142,610 shares of Merus stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $13,833,170.00.
• On Wednesday, December 24th, A/S Genmab acquired 96,082 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $9,319,954.00.
• On Tuesday, December 23rd, A/S Genmab bought 561,042 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $54,421,074.00.
• On Monday, December 22nd, A/S Genmab bought 15,710 shares of Merus stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,523,870.00.
• On Friday, December 19th, A/S Genmab purchased 66,264 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $6,427,608.00.
• On Thursday, December 18th, A/S Genmab purchased 212,177 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $20,581,169.00.
• On Wednesday, December 17th, A/S Genmab bought 150,795 shares of Merus stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $14,627,115.00.
• On Tuesday, December 16th, A/S Genmab acquired 120,752 shares of Merus stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $11,712,944.00.

Merus Stock Down 7.1%

MRUS stock opened at $90.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.00. Merus N.V. has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $97.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. William Blair downgraded Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Truist Financial lowered Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.56.

Trending Headlines about Merus

Here are the key news stories impacting Merus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A/S Genmab (a major shareholder) has accumulated large blocks of Merus stock across Dec. 16–29, including a reported 1,052,806‑share purchase on Dec. 29 at ~$97 per share — increasing its stake and signaling strong insider/acquirer conviction. This sizeable, repeated buying can be interpreted as bullish support under the shares. SEC Ownership Filing
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional investors have also added positions in recent quarters (e.g., Paradigm Biocapital, Magnetar, Ameriprise), indicating continued institutional interest that can support the longer‑term valuation case. MarketBeat Institutional Ownership
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading of MRUS was temporarily halted with a “news pending” notice — a procedural event that typically precedes material announcements and can cause short‑term volume/volatility without indicating direction. (Reported earlier today.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options activity has been reported in MRUS recently; such flows often reflect speculative positioning or hedging and tend to increase intraday volatility but are ambiguous for price direction. Options Flow Report
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate Merus has completed a Genmab acquisition and will delist from Nasdaq — a material corporate action that can reduce public float/liquidity and prompt re‑pricing or forced selling by some investors; that development is a likely contributor to the pullback in the stock. TipRanks: Acquisition/Delisting

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus

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

About Merus

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.