Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Stock Price Up 5.6% – Here’s Why

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) traded up 5.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $2.54 and last traded at $2.5650. 316,559 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,892,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CERS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cerus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Cerus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research upgraded Cerus from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.00.

Cerus Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $566.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.50 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.05.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.02. Cerus had a negative net margin of 4.41% and a negative return on equity of 15.18%. The business had revenue of $59.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.68 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cerus Corporation will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cerus

In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 447,757 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total transaction of $743,276.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,998,493 shares in the company, valued at $8,297,498.38. This trade represents a 8.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 127,544 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $211,723.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,040,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,727,314.66. This represents a 10.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,210,949 shares of company stock worth $2,156,291. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Cerus by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 37,051 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Cerus by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 507,455 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 5,365 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cerus by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 6,094 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in shares of Cerus by 4.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in shares of Cerus by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 103,192 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 6,651 shares during the period. 78.37% of the stock is 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.