Verition Fund Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRSN)

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRSN - Free Report) by 11,695.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,303,249 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,292,200 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 1.06% of Mersana Therapeutics worth $2,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mersana Therapeutics by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,274,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,109,000 after buying an additional 36,782 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mersana Therapeutics by 105,301.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 185,507 shares of the company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 185,331 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Mersana Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mersana Therapeutics by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 85,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 41,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of Mersana Therapeutics by 262.1% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 121,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 87,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MRSN shares. Citigroup started coverage on Mersana Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Mersana Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Martin H. Jr. Huber sold 50,423 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total value of $88,744.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 116,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,735.52. This trade represents a 30.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 70,849 shares of company stock valued at $129,184. Corporate insiders own 11.80% of the company's stock.

Mersana Therapeutics Stock Up 9.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRSN traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $2.53. 662,394 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,582,730. The company has a market cap of $312.53 million, a PE ratio of -4.15 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.98. Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1.22 and a 52 week high of $6.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.35.

Mersana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.08. Mersana Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 214.20% and a negative return on equity of 401.37%. The firm had revenue of $12.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.35) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 63.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Mersana Therapeutics Company Profile

Mersana Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops antibody drug conjugates (ADC) for cancer patients with unmet needs. The company develops XMT-1660, a B7-H4-targeted Dolasynthen ADC candidate; and XMT-2056, an immunosynthen ADC. It has research and development collaborations with Janssen Biotech, Inc, Ares Trading SA, Merck KGaA, and Asana BioSciences, LLC for the development of ADC product candidates.