D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 220,300 Shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,428,933 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 220,300 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 1.85% of Cerus worth $5,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockport Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Cerus in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Cerus in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Cerus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cerus

In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 71,086 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total value of $103,074.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,238,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,146,074.40. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 29,985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total transaction of $43,478.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,477,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,142,128.50. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 441,150 shares of company stock valued at $665,210 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CERS traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1.27. 128,517 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,251,509. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.82 million, a PE ratio of -11.50 and a beta of 1.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $1.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.59. Cerus Co. has a 52 week low of $1.12 and a 52 week high of $2.54.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $43.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.44 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 11.60% and a negative return on equity of 40.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Cerus in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Cerus 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.