Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Insider Sells $76,000.88 in Stock

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) insider Richard Benjamin sold 40,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.88, for a total value of $76,000.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 879,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,709.88. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CERS remained flat at $1.93 during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 2,029,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,640,307. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $2.31 and its 200-day moving average is $1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 1.51. Cerus Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $1.12 and a fifty-two week high of $2.96.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 7.58% and a negative return on equity of 26.09%. The firm had revenue of $64.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.31 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cerus Corporation will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cerus

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Cerus by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 37,051 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 6,094 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 142,958 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 6,415 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cerus by 8.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 93,343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Cerus by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 7,603 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CERS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cerus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company dedicated to enhancing the safety of blood transfusions worldwide. Its flagship offering, the INTERCEPT Blood System, employs pathogen reduction technology designed to inactivate a broad spectrum of viruses, bacteria, and parasites in donated platelets and plasma. This approach aims to mitigate the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections and improve blood component safety for patients.

The INTERCEPT platform integrates seamlessly into existing blood center workflows, providing a one-step treatment process for collected blood products.