Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Cerus Corporation experienced a significant increase in short interest of 59.7% in September, reaching 11,020,000 shares, which implies a days-to-cover ratio of 8.7 days.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" for Cerus, with a price target of $3.50, influenced by reports of underwhelming earnings and two Buy ratings against one Sell rating.
• Institutional investors currently own 78.37% of Cerus stock, with notable increases in stakes from firms like AQR Capital Management and Acadian Asset Management during the first quarter.

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 11,020,000 shares, a growth of 59.7% from the August 31st total of 6,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CERS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerus by 291.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,429,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,133 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerus by 112.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,898,621 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,079 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus in the 1st quarter worth about $643,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Cerus by 156.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 749,564 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 457,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerus by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,222,327 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 344,395 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CERS opened at $1.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $300.97 million, a PE ratio of -15.70 and a beta of 1.70. Cerus has a 1-year low of $1.12 and a 1-year high of $2.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.35.

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

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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