Key Points
- A/S Genmab purchased 1,052,806 Merus shares on Dec. 29 at an average price of $97 (about $102.1M), part of a string of large acquisitions from Dec. 16–29 that signal strong insider/acquirer conviction.
- After these trades Genmab owns 73,884,293 Merus shares (worth roughly $7.17B), representing a 1.45% increase in its stake.
- Reports that Genmab has completed an acquisition of Merus and will delist the company from Nasdaq appear to have driven a roughly 7.1% pullback, raising implications for public float, liquidity and investor positioning.
Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS - Get Free Report) major shareholder A/S Genmab acquired 2,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $288,866.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 72,831,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,654,239. This represents a 0.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock 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 purchased at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $102,122,182.00.
- On Friday, December 26th, A/S Genmab purchased 142,610 shares of Merus stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $13,833,170.00.
- On Wednesday, December 24th, A/S Genmab acquired 96,082 shares of Merus stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,319,954.00.
- On Tuesday, December 23rd, A/S Genmab bought 561,042 shares of Merus stock. The shares were purchased 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 purchased 15,710 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired 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 purchased 66,264 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $6,427,608.00.
- On Thursday, December 18th, A/S Genmab acquired 212,177 shares of Merus stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, for a total transaction of $20,581,169.00.
- On Wednesday, December 17th, A/S Genmab bought 150,795 shares of Merus stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $14,627,115.00.
- On Tuesday, December 16th, A/S Genmab bought 120,752 shares of Merus stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $11,712,944.00.
Merus Stock Performance
NASDAQ MRUS opened at $90.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $95.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.00. Merus N.V. has a 1 year low of $33.19 and a 1 year high of $97.14.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merus
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merus during the first quarter valued at $619,000. Allostery Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Merus by 473.5% during the 1st quarter. Allostery Investments LP now owns 124,657 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,247,000 after purchasing an additional 102,922 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 160,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,734,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Merus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $520,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in Merus by 1.4% in the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 47,956 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have commented on MRUS. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Merus from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Merus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, September 29th. William Blair cut shares of Merus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Merus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $97.00 price target (down previously from $112.00) on shares of Merus in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.56.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MRUS
More Merus News
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
Merus Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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