Merus Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 52,417 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 3,555% compared to the average daily volume of 1,434 call options.

Insider Activity at Merus

In other Merus news, major shareholder A/S Genmab bought 66,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $6,427,608.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 72,013,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,985,267,305. This represents a 0.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Shuman sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.10, for a total value of $163,370.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,057,292.20. This trade represents a 13.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 549,988 shares of company stock valued at $53,348,836. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 1st quarter worth about $619,000. Siren L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Merus by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 1,043,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,920,000 after purchasing an additional 259,055 shares during the last quarter. DAFNA Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merus by 2.2% in the first quarter. DAFNA Capital Management LLC now owns 461,804 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,437,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP grew its stake in Merus by 99.4% during the first quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,369,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,831,000 after buying an additional 1,679,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allostery Investments LP grew its stake in Merus by 473.5% during the first quarter. Allostery Investments LP now owns 124,657 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,247,000 after buying an additional 102,922 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merus Trading Up 0.0%

MRUS stock opened at $96.92 on Friday. Merus has a 1-year low of $33.19 and a 1-year high of $97.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.87 and its 200-day moving average is $77.35. The firm has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.29 and a beta of 1.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRUS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. HC Wainwright downgraded Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Leerink Partnrs cut Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.56.

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.