Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its position in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,897 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,523 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Cerus were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Cerus by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,186,564 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,088,000 after buying an additional 78,824 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Cerus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Cerus by 10.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 614,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 57,073 shares in the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 4.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 252,444 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 10,739 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Cerus from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Cerus Price Performance

CERS opened at $1.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.59. Cerus Co. has a 1-year low of $1.38 and a 1-year high of $2.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1.75 and a 200-day moving average of $1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $317.57 million, a P/E ratio of -15.55 and a beta of 1.24.

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.