Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $167,000 Stock Position in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC reduced its holdings in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,336 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,537 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Merus were worth $167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Merus by 63.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 102,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 40,060 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merus in the first quarter valued at $555,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 26.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,714,000 after acquiring an additional 323,518 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merus by 90.6% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 521,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,848,000 after purchasing an additional 247,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Merus during the first quarter worth approximately $53,377,000. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $51.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of -18.63 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.99 and a 200-day moving average of $50.76. Merus has a one year low of $19.81 and a one year high of $61.61.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRUS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Merus from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Merus from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merus currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

Merus 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.