Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 37.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,663 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 19,791 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cerus were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CERS. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cerus by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 6,530,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,105,000 after acquiring an additional 656,971 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cerus during the first quarter worth approximately $566,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Cerus in the 1st quarter worth $405,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cerus by 2.4% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 7,750,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,571,000 after purchasing an additional 182,629 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Cerus by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 7,750,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,649,000 after buying an additional 182,629 shares during the period. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of Cerus stock opened at $2.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.96. The company has a market cap of $380.87 million, a PE ratio of -12.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.83. Cerus Co. has a fifty-two week low of $1.21 and a fifty-two week high of $2.59.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 44.27% and a negative net margin of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $45.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.50 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Cerus Co. will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total value of $61,879.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,995.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 21,605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total transaction of $54,012.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 438,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,095,017.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total value of $61,879.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,995.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% 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.