Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged in Cerus during May, rising 64.3% to 18.5 million shares, or about 9.8% of the float. The stock’s short-interest ratio is now 4.0 days.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leaning neutral-to-bullish, with recent upgrades from Zacks Research, BTIG, and Wall Street Zen. MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold and a $4.00 price target.
• Cerus reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and better-than-expected revenue, but the stock was still trading around $2.66, down 1.7% on the day. Insider selling has also been notable, with executives selling shares in March and insiders selling 1.23 million shares over the last 90 days.

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 18,522,745 shares, an increase of 64.3% from the April 30th total of 11,273,044 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,628,884 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 9.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CERS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Cerus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research raised shares of Cerus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cerus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cerus in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued 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 Trading Down 1.7%

CERS traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,772,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,833. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Cerus has a 52-week low of $1.15 and a 52-week high of $3.15. The firm has a market cap of $531.98 million, a P/E ratio of -53.10 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.14.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.02. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 15.18% and a negative net margin of 4.41%.The business had revenue of $59.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.68 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cerus will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In other Cerus news, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 165,200 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total transaction of $274,232.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,747,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,901,138.84. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 127,544 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total transaction of $211,723.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,040,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,727,314.66. The trade was a 10.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,227,616 shares of company stock worth $2,206,292. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in Cerus by 152.4% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 104,101 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 62,854 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cerus by 291.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,429,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 1,064,133 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cerus by 12.0% in the 1st 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 period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Cerus during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Cerus by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 268,946 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 17,039 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company dedicated to enhancing the safety of blood transfusions worldwide. Its flagship offering, the INTERCEPT Blood System, employs pathogen reduction technology designed to inactivate a broad spectrum of viruses, bacteria, and parasites in donated platelets and plasma. This approach aims to mitigate the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections and improve blood component safety for patients.

The INTERCEPT platform integrates seamlessly into existing blood center workflows, providing a one-step treatment process for collected blood products.

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