Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Upgraded to Buy at BTIG Research

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) was upgraded by BTIG Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday. The firm currently has a $4.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 97.04% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Cerus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Cerus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cerus has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.00.

Cerus Price Performance

CERS stock opened at $2.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.38 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Cerus has a 12-month low of $1.15 and a 12-month high of $2.96.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $59.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.68 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 7.58% and a negative return on equity of 26.09%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cerus will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cerus news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.01, for a total value of $61,998.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,059,139 shares in the company, valued at $2,128,869.39. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 447,757 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $743,276.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,998,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,297,498.38. The trade was a 8.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,194,282 shares of company stock valued at $2,106,290 over the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cerus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 599,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $954,000 after buying an additional 232,218 shares in the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $545,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Cerus by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 129,084 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 8,178 shares in the last quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Cerus by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 61,268 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 21,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

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.