Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.25.

CERS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cerus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Freedom Broker initiated coverage on shares of Cerus in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.50 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Thursday, June 18th.

Insider Activity at Cerus

In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 101,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $299,641.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,053,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,855,925.84. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 42,359 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $124,535.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,694,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,981,383.12. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 252,737 shares of company stock worth $737,292 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cerus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cerus Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CERS opened at $2.64 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.46. The stock has a market cap of $532.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.00 and a beta of 1.81. Cerus has a fifty-two week low of $1.17 and a fifty-two week high of $3.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 3.06% and a negative return on equity of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $63.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cerus will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.