Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Insider Chrystal Jensen Sells 30,845 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,845 shares on March 6 at an average price of $2.01 for about $61,998, trimming her stake by 2.83% to 1,059,139 shares (≈$2.13M).
• Cerus shares were trading at $1.93 (52-week range $1.12–$2.96) with a market cap of ≈$370.9M; the company reported Q EPS of ($0.01) in line with estimates and revenue of $64.58M, but remains unprofitable with negative net margin and ROE.
• Institutional investors own ~78.37% of Cerus stock, with recent sizable additions from AQR, Millennium and Cubist, signaling strong hedge fund interest.

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,845 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.01, for a total transaction of $61,998.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,059,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,128,869.39. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Cerus Price Performance

NASDAQ CERS remained flat at $1.93 during trading hours on Monday. 2,029,960 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,640,307. Cerus Corporation has a one year low of $1.12 and a one year high of $2.96. The company has a market cap of $370.89 million, a P/E ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company's 50-day moving average is $2.31 and its 200-day moving average is $1.86.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). The business had revenue of $64.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.31 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 7.58% and a negative return on equity of 26.09%. Equities research analysts predict that Cerus Corporation will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Cerus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Cerus by 152.4% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 104,101 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 62,854 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cerus by 291.6% in 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 grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 344,395 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cerus by 339.6% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 94,812 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 73,244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CERS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cerus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold".

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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