Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) PT Lowered to $3.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) had its price target trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $6.00 to $3.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Cerus Stock Performance

NASDAQ CERS opened at $1.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.31 million, a P/E ratio of -10.00 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.51. Cerus has a fifty-two week low of $1.21 and a fifty-two week high of $2.59.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 44.27% and a negative net margin of 14.15%. The company had revenue of $45.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.50 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cerus will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cerus

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CERS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Cerus by 451.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 12,179 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Cerus in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Cerus by 51.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd acquired a new stake in Cerus during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the second quarter worth $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

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.