Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cerus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of CERS opened at $1.69 on Thursday. 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 has a 1 year low of $1.12 and a 1 year high of $2.96. The company has a market capitalization of $324.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.13 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.87.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $64.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.31 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 26.09% and a negative net margin of 7.58%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cerus will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.01, for a total transaction of $61,998.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,059,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,128,869.39. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 55,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $113,763.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,195,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,463,535.46. The trade was a 4.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 352,041 shares of company stock worth $708,170 over the last 90 days. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Cerus by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 37,051 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Cerus by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 6,094 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in Cerus by 4.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerus by 8.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 93,343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 7,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Cerus by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 7,603 shares during the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cerus Company Profile

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.