Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) COO Sells $43,478.25 in Stock

Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 29,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total transaction of $43,478.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,477,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,142,128.50. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Cerus Trading Up 7.0 %

Shares of CERS opened at $1.53 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.75. Cerus Co. has a twelve month low of $1.38 and a twelve month high of $2.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.26 million, a P/E ratio of -13.91 and a beta of 1.56.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 11.60% and a negative return on equity of 40.55%. The company had revenue of $50.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.81 million. On average, research analysts predict that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 2,084.7% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 492,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 470,178 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 249.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 254,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 181,400 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 121.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 595,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 326,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 129,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 36,488 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Cerus in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

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.