Cerus’ (CERS) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reissued their overweight rating on shares of Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Cerus Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CERS opened at $1.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $306.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.00 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Cerus has a 12-month low of $1.38 and a 12-month high of $2.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1.74 and its 200 day moving average is $1.83.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The company had revenue of $50.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.81 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 40.55% and a negative net margin of 11.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cerus will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cerus news, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total value of $35,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 162,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,596.74. The trade was a 10.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CERS. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Cerus by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,814,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589,721 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Cerus by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 8,319,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,813,000 after buying an additional 994,007 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cerus by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,877,932 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,432,000 after buying an additional 986,286 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Cerus by 2,084.7% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 492,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 470,178 shares during the period. Finally, Senvest Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cerus by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 6,393,979 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,847,000 after buying an additional 387,603 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

About Cerus

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.