Richard J. Benjamin Sells 26,139 Shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Stock

Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 26,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.50, for a total value of $39,208.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 734,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,102,198.50. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Cerus Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Cerus stock opened at $1.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market capitalization of $276.83 million, a P/E ratio of -13.55 and a beta of 1.56. Cerus Co. has a 1 year low of $1.38 and a 1 year high of $2.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.78.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The business had revenue of $50.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.81 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 11.60% and a negative return on equity of 40.55%. Analysts forecast that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning lifted its position in Cerus by 51.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 8,411 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cerus by 153.7% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 195,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 118,280 shares during the last quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Cerus by 87.1% during the third quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 505,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 235,082 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Cerus during the third quarter worth $353,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the third quarter worth $71,000. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Cerus in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

About Cerus

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.