Avoro Capital Advisors LLC Buys 466,112 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 52.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,355,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 466,112 shares during the quarter. Merus accounts for approximately 1.1% of Avoro Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merus were worth $80,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Merus by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Merus during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merus in the first quarter valued at $108,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merus during the second quarter valued at $242,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merus Price Performance

MRUS stock opened at $49.67 on Monday. Merus has a 12 month low of $19.81 and a 12 month high of $61.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.21 and its 200 day moving average is $49.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 1.12.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $7.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 476.41% and a negative return on equity of 36.33%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merus will post -3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRUS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Merus from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Peter B. Silverman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merus Company Profile

Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the development of antibody therapeutics in the Netherlands. Its bispecific antibody candidate pipeline includes Zenocutuzumab (MCLA-128), which is in a phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer, as well as in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors that harbor Neuregulin 1.