Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have an average “Hold” rating on Cerus, with one sell, one hold, and three buy recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $5.25, while Freedom Broker recently initiated coverage with a $6.50 target.
• Cerus reported quarterly revenue of $63.3 million and adjusted expectations with an EPS loss of $0.01, matching consensus. Analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $0.04 per share.
• Institutional investors own 78.37% of Cerus after several firms, including BlackRock, initiated positions during the second quarter. Meanwhile, insiders sold 232,283 shares worth about $684,112 over the past 90 days.

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.25.

A number of research firms have recently commented on CERS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cerus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Monday. Finally, Freedom Broker started coverage on shares of Cerus in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.50 target price on the stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin Green sold 33,676 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $99,007.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,062,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,122,832.72. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.98, for a total value of $89,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 936,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,791,237.86. The trade was a 3.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 232,283 shares of company stock valued at $684,112 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cerus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CERS. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new stake in shares of Cerus during the 2nd quarter worth $1,525,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Cerus in the second quarter valued at $64,868,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Cerus in the second quarter valued at $7,026,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Cerus during the second quarter valued at about $1,635,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cerus during the second quarter valued at about $1,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Cerus Stock Down 0.4%

Cerus stock opened at $2.65 on Friday. Cerus has a 1-year low of $1.30 and a 1-year high of $3.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $534.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.33 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.48.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $63.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.90 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 10.19% and a negative net margin of 3.06%. On average, analysts predict that Cerus will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on improving the safety of blood transfusions. The company develops and commercializes technologies designed to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections by inactivating certain viruses, bacteria, parasites and white blood cells in donated blood components.

Its principal product platform is the INTERCEPT Blood System, which uses amotosalen and ultraviolet A light to treat blood components. The system is used with platelet and plasma components, and Cerus has also developed applications for red blood cells and cryoprecipitation.

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