Short Interest in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Expands By 6.2%

Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,040,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the September 15th total of 6,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Cerus from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3.63.

Cerus Trading Down 9.4 %

NASDAQ CERS traded down $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $1.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,365,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,990. The firm has a market cap of $301.37 million, a PE ratio of -9.59 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.99 and its 200 day moving average is $1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Cerus has a 1-year low of $1.21 and a 1-year high of $2.59.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $45.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.50 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 44.27% and a negative net margin of 14.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cerus will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total value of $61,879.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,995.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total transaction of $61,879.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,995.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 21,605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total value of $54,012.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 438,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,017.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cerus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CERS. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cerus during the 4th quarter valued at $180,000. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Cerus by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 269,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 12,224 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Cerus by 2.4% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 7,750,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,649,000 after acquiring an additional 182,629 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Cerus by 124.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 218,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 121,364 shares during the period. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its position in shares of Cerus by 2.4% during the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 7,750,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,571,000 after purchasing an additional 182,629 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

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.