Stifel Nicolaus Trims Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Target Price to $3.00

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) had its target price trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $6.00 to $3.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of CERS stock opened at $1.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1.98 and its 200 day moving average is $1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $314.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.00 and a beta of 1.18. Cerus has a 52-week low of $1.21 and a 52-week high of $2.59.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $42.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cerus will post -0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cerus news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 21,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total value of $54,012.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 438,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,095,017.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 590,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,286,995.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 21,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,017.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CERS. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its position in shares of Cerus by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 35,074 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 9,737 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Cerus by 51.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 8,411 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the third quarter worth about $121,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus during the second quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Cerus by 10.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 73,372 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Company 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.