Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Short Interest Update

Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,930,000 shares, a growth of 7.9% from the October 15th total of 7,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Cerus from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of Cerus stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $1.67. 1,006,842 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,296,796. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1.77 and a 200 day moving average of $1.92. Cerus has a fifty-two week low of $1.38 and a fifty-two week high of $2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.14 million, a PE ratio of -15.18 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In other Cerus news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total transaction of $61,879.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,995.70. This trade represents a 4.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Cerus in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cerus by 451.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 12,179 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Cerus by 51.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 8,411 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd acquired a new stake in Cerus in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cerus in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Company Profile

Cerus Corporation operates as a biomedical products company. The company focuses on developing and commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. Its INTERCEPT Blood System, a proprietary technology for controlling biological replication that is designed to reduce blood-borne pathogens in donated blood components intended for transfusion.