Zacks Research Downgrades Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) to Strong Sell

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

CERS has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Cerus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cerus presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Cerus Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of CERS stock opened at $1.69 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.86. The stock has a market cap of $324.77 million, a P/E ratio of -21.13 and a beta of 1.51. Cerus has a 12 month low of $1.12 and a 12 month high of $2.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 7.58% and a negative return on equity of 26.09%. The firm had revenue of $64.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.31 million. On average, research analysts expect that Cerus will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cerus

In other news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.01, for a total transaction of $61,998.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,059,139 shares in the company, valued at $2,128,869.39. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 55,225 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $113,763.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,195,891 shares in the company, valued at $2,463,535.46. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 352,041 shares of company stock worth $708,170. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CERS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,064,133 shares during the period. Kotler Kevin bought a new stake in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter worth $2,084,000. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Cerus by 227.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,142,502 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 793,244 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Cerus by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,632,304 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,710,000 after buying an additional 733,683 shares during the period. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P bought a new stake in Cerus during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,076,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.