Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) PT Raised to $4.00 at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) had its price objective hoisted by Cantor Fitzgerald from $3.00 to $4.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CERS. Craig Hallum started coverage on Cerus in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $2.50 price target on shares of Cerus in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

Cerus Trading Down 8.0 %

NASDAQ:CERS opened at $1.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Cerus has a 52-week low of $1.21 and a 52-week high of $3.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $299.52 million, a PE ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 1.31.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 19.27% and a negative return on equity of 58.30%. The business had revenue of $46.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.80 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cerus will post -0.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 29,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total value of $70,507.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 478,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,147,346.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 29,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total value of $70,507.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 478,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,147,346.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Carol Moore sold 20,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.02, for a total transaction of $41,650.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 490,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,058.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 177,516 shares of company stock worth $372,912. Company insiders own 7.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cerus

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sepio Capital LP grew its holdings in Cerus by 789.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 3,497,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,280,000 after buying an additional 3,104,062 shares during the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC increased its position in Cerus by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 7,258,826 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,738 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,928,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in Cerus by 1,878.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,226,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cerus by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,914,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,175,000 after purchasing an additional 852,420 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.