Trexquant Investment LP Sells 9,711 Shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Trexquant Investment LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,733 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,711 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.15% of Merus worth $4,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRUS. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in Merus during the third quarter valued at about $206,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its position in Merus by 10.4% in the third quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merus in the third quarter worth about $358,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merus during the 4th quarter valued at about $347,000. 96.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merus Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRUS opened at $38.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.02. Merus has a 1 year low of $36.46 and a 1 year high of $61.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.74.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.48. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. The company had revenue of $9.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merus will post -3.85 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Merus from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Merus from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Merus from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.31.

About Merus

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.