Short Interest in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Rises By 6.2%

Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,040,000 shares, a growth of 6.2% from the September 15th total of 6,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days.

Cerus Price Performance

NASDAQ CERS remained flat at $1.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. 1,323,999 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,195,036. The firm has a market cap of $332.80 million, a PE ratio of -10.59 and a beta of 1.18. Cerus has a 52 week low of $1.21 and a 52 week high of $2.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $2.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.93.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $45.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cerus will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 21,605 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 438,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,095,017.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Cerus news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,286,995.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 21,605 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total transaction of $54,012.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 438,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,095,017.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cerus

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cerus by 390.4% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,060 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 658.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 263,839 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 229,074 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the 1st quarter worth $405,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cerus by 938.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 215,901 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 195,112 shares during the period. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in Cerus by 2.4% during the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 7,750,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,571,000 after acquiring an additional 182,629 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.