Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Insider Richard Benjamin Sells 101,740 Shares of Stock

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) insider Richard Benjamin sold 101,740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total transaction of $168,888.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 777,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,419.26. This represents a 11.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of CERS stock opened at $1.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.73. Cerus Corporation has a 52-week low of $1.12 and a 52-week high of $2.96. The stock has a market cap of $345.91 million, a PE ratio of -22.50 and a beta of 1.51.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The company had revenue of $64.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.31 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 7.58% and a negative return on equity of 26.09%. As a group, analysts forecast that Cerus Corporation will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CERS. TD Cowen reissued 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 report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Cerus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Cerus News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Cerus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cerus announced that COO Vivek Jayaraman will be promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer effective July 1, 2026, and current CEO William “Obi” Greenman will become Executive Chairman; Jayaraman will join the board — a clear, pre-announced succession plan that investors typically view as a stabilizing, positive governance signal. Cerus Appoints Vivek Jayaraman as President and Chief Executive Officer
• Neutral Sentiment: Related release and commentary also referenced executive compensation adjustments tied to the leadership change; depending on details (timing, equity grants, vesting), these can be viewed as neutral to slightly positive if they align management incentives with shareholders. Cerus Announces CEO Succession and Executive Compensation Changes
• Negative Sentiment: CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 447,757 shares at an average price of $1.66 (an ~8.22% reduction in his holding), a sizable insider sale that can spook investors even though he remains a large shareholder. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 127,544 shares at $1.66 (a ~10.92% reduction), another material insider liquidation that may raise short‑term concern about insider sentiment or liquidity needs. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: COO Vivek K. Jayaraman (the incoming CEO) sold 165,200 shares at $1.66 (~8.64% reduction); insider sales by the incoming CEO can create mixed signals despite the succession announcement. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Other insiders (Richard J. Benjamin and Chrystal Jensen) also sold large blocks (~101,740 and 113,008 shares, respectively) at $1.66, further increasing selling pressure and potential investor concern about insider liquidity. Benjamin SEC Filing Jensen SEC Filing

Institutional Trading of Cerus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CERS. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Cerus by 321.3% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 46,801 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 35,692 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Cerus by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 309,168 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 69,087 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Cerus by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 53,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 17,336 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Cerus by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 142,958 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 6,415 shares during the period. Finally, Kotler Kevin bought a new position in Cerus during the 4th quarter worth about $2,084,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by 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.