Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Cerus Corporation $CERS

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,516,606 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 193,353 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 2.25% of Cerus worth $8,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CERS. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 37,051 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Cerus by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 6,094 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised 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 valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 6,415 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in Cerus by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 103,192 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 6,651 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cerus by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 93,343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cerus

In other news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 33,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $99,007.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,062,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,122,832.72. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,454 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.60, for a total value of $53,180.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 261,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $680,365.40. This represents a 7.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 256,071 shares of company stock worth $747,894. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CERS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cerus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. BTIG Research raised shares of Cerus from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cerus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.00.

Cerus Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CERS stock opened at $3.07 on Wednesday. Cerus Corporation has a 12-month low of $1.15 and a 12-month high of $3.47. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $615.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.40 and a beta of 1.77.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $59.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.68 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 15.18% and a negative net margin of 4.41%. Equities research analysts predict that Cerus Corporation will post -0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cerus Company Profile

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.