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

Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merus N.V. (NASDAQ:MRUS) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 33,314 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,137,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRUS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 15.7% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,674 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Merus by 66.7% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 26,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 10,400 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in Merus by 26.3% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 78,280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 16,280 shares during the period. Atle Fund Management AB raised its stake in Merus by 69.7% in the 2nd quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 59,889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 24,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Merus by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 11,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares during the period. 96.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merus News Summary

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRUS. William Blair downgraded shares of Merus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Truist Financial cut Merus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group cut Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $97.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Merus in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut shares of Merus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.56.

Merus Stock Performance

Merus stock opened at $90.00 on Tuesday. Merus N.V. has a 52 week low of $33.19 and a 52 week high of $97.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $95.78 and a 200-day moving average of $77.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder A/S Genmab purchased 561,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.00 per share, with a total value of $54,421,074.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 72,589,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,041,212,249. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Shuman sold 8,300 shares of the company’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 transaction of $796,136.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,311.84. This represents a 43.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,365,432 shares of company stock valued at $132,446,904. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merus Profile

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.