Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO - Free Report) in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Mereo BioPharma Group in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Mereo BioPharma Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.40.

Mereo BioPharma Group Price Performance

Shares of MREO stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3.77. 618,208 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 796,075. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $4.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.98. Mereo BioPharma Group has a 12 month low of $3.17 and a 12 month high of $5.02.

Insider Activity at Mereo BioPharma Group

In other news, CEO Denise Scots-Knight sold 28,611 shares of Mereo BioPharma Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.47, for a total transaction of $127,891.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 868,967 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,282.49. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Charles Sermon sold 9,980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.47, for a total transaction of $44,610.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 240,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,831.29. This represents a 3.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,931 shares of company stock worth $236,602 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mereo BioPharma Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MREO. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its position in Mereo BioPharma Group by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 5,097,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,952,000 after buying an additional 696,408 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp bought a new position in shares of Mereo BioPharma Group during the third quarter valued at about $195,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Mereo BioPharma Group by 36.0% during the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 198,300 shares of the company's stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 52,500 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Mereo BioPharma Group by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,345,866 shares of the company's stock worth $50,865,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mereo BioPharma Group by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 102,582 shares of the company's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 53,278 shares in the last quarter. 62.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mereo BioPharma Group

Mereo BioPharma Group plc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes therapeutics for the treatment of oncology and rare diseases in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It develops Etigilimab (MPH-313), an antibody T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of tumors.