Simplify Asset Management Inc. Takes $3.14 Million Position in Merus N.V. $MRUS

Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 33,314 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,137,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Merus by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,674 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Merus by 14.1% during the second quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 3,136 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merus by 10,400.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Merus by 299.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in Merus by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 47,956 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merus

In other news, VP Harry Shuman sold 8,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.92, for a total value of $796,136.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 11,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,055,311.84. This trade represents a 43.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder A/S Genmab bought 561,042 shares of Merus stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $54,421,074.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 72,589,817 shares in the company, valued at $7,041,212,249. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 1,365,432 shares of company stock valued at $132,446,904 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Lifesci Capital reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Merus in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. HC Wainwright cut shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. William Blair downgraded shares of Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Truist Financial cut Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.56.

More Merus News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder A/S Genmab executed a series of sizable purchases (multiple trades Dec. 16–26 totaling >815,000 shares at an average $97.00), signalling continued insider confidence and a meaningful increase in long‑term ownership. InsiderTrades: Genmab Buys
• Neutral Sentiment: Large institutional positions and recent hedge‑fund buys (institutional ownership reported ~96%) mean the float is tight and trading can be amplified by block trades or repositioning; analysts’ consensus remains around a “Hold” with a mid‑$90s target, so analyst coverage is not strongly directional. MarketBeat MRUS Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of unusually large options activity tied to MRUS can increase short‑term volatility (could reflect hedging or speculative positioning rather than a clear directional bet). Options Flow Report
• Negative Sentiment: A trading halt was placed on MRUS for “News pending” late in the session, creating uncertainty and often prompting quick repositioning or selling when trading resumes; that halt — plus the stock trading below recent insider purchase price — likely contributed to today’s downward pressure.

Merus Price Performance

Shares of MRUS stock opened at $90.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.75. Merus N.V. has a one year low of $33.19 and a one year high of $97.14.

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.