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

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

Cerus Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CERS opened at $1.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $276.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.55 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.78. Cerus Co. has a 12-month low of $1.38 and a 12-month high of $2.54.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cerus

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Cerus by 2,084.7% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 492,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 470,178 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Cerus by 249.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 254,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 181,400 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Cerus by 121.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 595,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 326,605 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Cerus by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 129,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 36,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cerus by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,817 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 16,720 shares during the last quarter. 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.