Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,454,525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 39,072 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.40% of Cerus worth $6,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CERS. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Cerus by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 264,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 28,383 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Cerus by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,738,893 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,506,000 after purchasing an additional 79,505 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Cerus by 16.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,575,049 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 219,755 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Cerus by 13.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 93,763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 11,338 shares during the period. Finally, PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Cerus in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Cerus in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Cerus Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of CERS stock opened at $1.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $252.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.36 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.65. Cerus Co. has a one year low of $1.12 and a one year high of $2.54.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative return on equity of 40.55% and a negative net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $50.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.81 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cerus

In related news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 18,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total transaction of $27,476.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 715,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,037,982.50. This trade represents a 2.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 29,985 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total transaction of $43,478.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,477,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,142,128.50. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 441,150 shares of company stock valued at $665,210 in the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.