A/S Genmab Acquires 96,082 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) Stock

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) major shareholder A/S Genmab acquired 96,082 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,319,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 72,685,899 shares in the company, valued at $7,050,532,203. The trade was a 0.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Monday, December 29th, A/S Genmab bought 1,052,806 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $102,122,182.00.
• On Friday, December 26th, A/S Genmab bought 2,978 shares of Merus stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $288,866.00.
• On Friday, December 26th, A/S Genmab purchased 142,610 shares of Merus stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $13,833,170.00.
• On Tuesday, December 23rd, A/S Genmab acquired 561,042 shares of Merus stock. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 stock was bought 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 bought 66,264 shares of Merus stock. The stock was bought 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 shares were bought 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 acquired 150,795 shares of Merus stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $14,627,115.00.
• On Tuesday, December 16th, A/S Genmab acquired 120,752 shares of Merus stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $11,712,944.00.

Merus Stock Down 7.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $90.00 on Wednesday. Merus N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $33.19 and a fifty-two week high of $97.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.00. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup downgraded Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Truist Financial cut Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $97.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $97.00 price target (down from $112.00) on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merus presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Merus by 199.1% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 3,994 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Merus by 2,188.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 740,394 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,708,000 after acquiring an additional 775,843 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Merus during the third quarter worth about $68,838,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merus in the third quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 870.1% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 50,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,708,000 after purchasing an additional 44,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

Merus News Summary

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

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.