Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Cerus Corporation experienced a 43.8% decline in short interest in September, dropping from 11,020,000 shares to 6,190,000 shares.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 78.37% of Cerus stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• The company reported revenue of $60.10 million in its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $51.80 million, although it missed earnings per share estimates.

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 6,190,000 shares, a drop of 43.8% from the September 15th total of 11,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Cerus by 2.6% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 8,533,758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $12,033,000 after purchasing an additional 213,917 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cerus by 12.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,222,327 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 344,395 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cerus by 38.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,632,304 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 733,683 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Cerus by 4.2% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,418,263 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,410,000 after buying an additional 97,467 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Cerus by 6.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,774,137 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,466,000 after buying an additional 107,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Cerus Price Performance

Cerus stock opened at $1.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $312.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.30 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Cerus has a 1 year low of $1.12 and a 1 year high of $2.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.37.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). Cerus had a negative return on equity of 33.77% and a negative net margin of 9.81%.The business had revenue of $60.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $51.80 million. Cerus has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Cerus will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cerus presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.00.

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.

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