Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Cerus shares crossed above their 200-day moving average of $1.95, trading as high as $2.04 and last at $2.02 on volume of about 926,782 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-negative — MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" with one Buy, two Sell ratings and recent downgrades from Zacks (to Strong Sell) and Wall Street Zen.
• Insiders have been net sellers (1,194,282 shares sold, ~$2.1M over three months) while the company posts negative EPS and margins despite a revenue beat; market cap is about $388M and institutional ownership is ~78%.

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $1.95 and traded as high as $2.04. Cerus shares last traded at $2.02, with a volume of 926,782 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CERS. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cerus from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cerus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cerus in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cerus has an average rating of "Reduce".

Cerus Stock Up 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $388.18 million, a P/E ratio of -25.25 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.04 and a 200-day moving average of $1.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cerus

In other Cerus news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.01, for a total transaction of $61,998.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,059,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,128,869.39. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 165,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.66, for a total value of $274,232.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,747,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,901,138.84. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,194,282 shares of company stock worth $2,106,290. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,064,133 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Cerus by 12.0% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,222,327 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 344,395 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Cerus during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 17,039 shares during the period. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cerus Company Profile

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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