Atle Fund Management AB Sells 11,890 Shares of Merus N.V. $MRUS

Atle Fund Management AB cut its holdings in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,999 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 11,890 shares during the quarter. Merus makes up approximately 1.8% of Atle Fund Management AB’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Atle Fund Management AB owned about 0.06% of Merus worth $4,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRUS. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position 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 worth $59,641,000 after buying an additional 1,031,457 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Merus in the second quarter worth $43,837,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in Merus by 36.0% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,042,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $107,430,000 after acquiring an additional 541,168 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Merus by 46.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,528,587 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,404,000 after buying an additional 483,962 shares during the period. Finally, Sofinnova Investments Inc. bought a new position in Merus in the second quarter worth about $21,280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MRUS. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Merus in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merus has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.56.

Merus Stock Down 7.1%

Merus stock opened at $90.00 on Friday. Merus N.V. has a twelve month low of $33.19 and a twelve month high of $97.14. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $93.25 and its 200 day moving average is $83.69.

Insider Activity at Merus

In related news, major shareholder A/S Genmab purchased 1,052,806 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $102,122,182.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,884,293 shares in the company, valued at $7,166,776,421. This trade represents a 1.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders acquired 2,421,216 shares of company stock valued at $234,857,952 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.