Raymond James & Associates Cuts Stock Holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its stake in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 47.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 362,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 322,357 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Cerus were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sepio Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Cerus by 789.1% in the third quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 3,497,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,280,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,062 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Cerus by 1,878.8% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 1,292,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 1,226,757 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Cerus by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,408,323 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 221,859 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cerus by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 593,092 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 71,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cerus during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,928,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CERS shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $2.50 price target on shares of Cerus in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $3.00 target price on shares of Cerus in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Cerus in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target for the company.

Cerus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CERS opened at $1.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1.99 and its 200 day moving average is $1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.55 million, a PE ratio of -8.00 and a beta of 1.29. Cerus Co. has a fifty-two week low of $1.21 and a fifty-two week high of $3.08.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 23.98% and a negative return on equity of 67.17%. The business had revenue of $46.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cerus Co. will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 17,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $35,967.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 508,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,996.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 29,378 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total transaction of $70,507.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 478,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,147,346.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 17,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $35,967.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 508,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,047,996.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,516 shares of company stock valued at $372,912 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.05% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Profile

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.