Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Trading 9.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS)’s stock price rose 9.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $3.44 and last traded at $3.4550. 1,739,478 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 2,123,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Cerus Stock Up 8.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $684.26 million, a PE ratio of -68.50 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.30.

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

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In other news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 33,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $99,007.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,062,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,122,832.72. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 101,919 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $299,641.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,053,036 shares in the company, valued at $14,855,925.84. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 256,071 shares of company stock valued at $747,894 in the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cerus Company Profile

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.