Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Price Target Raised to $4.00

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) had its price objective raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $3.00 to $4.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Cerus in a research 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 set a $2.50 price objective on shares of Cerus in a research report on Thursday, March 7th.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of CERS opened at $1.62 on Friday. Cerus has a twelve month low of $1.21 and a twelve month high of $3.08. The company has a market capitalization of $299.52 million, a P/E ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.89 and a 200 day moving average of $1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative return on equity of 58.30% and a negative net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $46.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.80 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cerus will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cerus

In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,244,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,684,477.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $128,368.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,244,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,684,477.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 26,247 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $54,068.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 905,447 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,220.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,516 shares of company stock worth $372,912 in the last three months. 7.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, RPO LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.