Richard Benjamin Sells 24,235 Shares of Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Stock

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) insider Richard Benjamin sold 24,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.01, for a total transaction of $48,712.35. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 919,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,848,249.27. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Cerus Stock Performance

CERS remained flat at $1.93 during midday trading on Monday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,029,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,640,307. The business has a fifty day moving average of $2.31 and a 200 day moving average of $1.86. The stock has a market cap of $370.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 1.51. Cerus Corporation has a 12 month low of $1.12 and a 12 month high of $2.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $64.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.31 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 26.09% and a negative net margin of 7.58%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cerus Corporation will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cerus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cerus

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CERS. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Cerus by 321.3% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 46,801 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 35,692 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Cerus by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 309,168 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 69,087 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Cerus by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 53,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 17,336 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in Cerus by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 142,958 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 6,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kotler Kevin acquired a new position in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,084,000. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.