Wasatch Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Wasatch Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,284,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 245,915 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 3.47% of Cerus worth $11,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. purchased a new stake in Cerus during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. RPO LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus during the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus during the 4th quarter valued at $180,000. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus during the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cerus Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ CERS traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 410,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market cap of $314.31 million, a PE ratio of -10.00 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.93. Cerus Co. has a fifty-two week low of $1.21 and a fifty-two week high of $3.08.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). Cerus had a negative return on equity of 58.65% and a negative net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $38.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cerus Co. will post -0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Cerus in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $2.50 target price on shares of Cerus in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Cerus from $3.00 to $4.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd.

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.