Sepio Capital LP decreased its stake in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS – Free Report) by 95.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,349,907 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP owned approximately 0.08% of Cerus worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC acquired a new position in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. acquired a new position in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cerus by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,914,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,175,000 after acquiring an additional 852,420 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Cerus by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 539,633 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 127,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Cerus by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 188,702 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 14,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms recently issued reports on CERS. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Cerus in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price for the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $2.50 target price on shares of Cerus in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Cerus from $3.00 to $4.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd.
Cerus Trading Down 0.5 %
CERS traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $1.84. 407,928 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,159,169. The firm has a market cap of $340.20 million, a P/E ratio of -10.82 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Cerus Co. has a 1 year low of $1.21 and a 1 year high of $3.08.
Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $38.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 19.27% and a negative return on equity of 58.65%. As a group, analysts expect that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at Cerus
In related news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $128,368.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,244,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,684,477.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Cerus news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 29,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total transaction of $70,507.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 478,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,147,346.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $128,368.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,244,892 shares in the company, valued at $6,684,477.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,516 shares of company stock valued at $372,912 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.40% 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.