Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Up 8.1% – Here’s Why

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS)’s share price shot up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $2.83 and last traded at $2.8550. Approximately 1,138,007 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 2,022,437 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Cerus Stock Up 8.1%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.25. The company has a market cap of $572.06 million, a P/E ratio of -57.90 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.02. Cerus had a negative net margin of 4.41% and a negative return on equity of 15.18%. The business had revenue of $59.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.68 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Cerus Corporation will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In other news, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 16,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.00, for a total transaction of $50,001.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,656,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,970,121. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.60, for a total transaction of $53,180.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 261,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $680,365.40. This trade represents a 7.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,788 shares of company stock valued at $153,182. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cerus by 152.4% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 104,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 62,854 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cerus by 291.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,429,062 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,133 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,222,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,479,000 after buying an additional 344,395 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 268,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 17,039 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

About Cerus

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.