Algert Global LLC Has $4.35 Million Stock Position in Cerus Corporation $CERS

Key Points

• Algert Global significantly increased its Cerus stake by 1,154.3% in the second quarter, acquiring 1.37 million additional shares for a total position valued at approximately $4.35 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 78.37% of Cerus.
• Cerus insiders sold shares in recent months, including tax-related sales by the COO and CFO. Insiders sold 252,737 shares worth about $737,000 over the past three months, while corporate insiders retain a 5.30% ownership stake.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Cerus has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $5.25, despite recent Buy upgrades. The stock opened at $2.72, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $63.3 million and an adjusted loss of $0.01 per share.

Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 1,154.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,491,119 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,372,243 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC owned approximately 0.74% of Cerus worth $4,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cerus during the second quarter valued at $64,868,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,026,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cerus by 291.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,429,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,133 shares during the last quarter. Kotler Kevin acquired a new position in Cerus in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,084,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in Cerus by 227.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,142,502 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,354,000 after buying an additional 793,244 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In other news, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 42,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $124,535.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,694,348 shares in the company, valued at $4,981,383.12. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 33,676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $99,007.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,062,188 shares in the company, valued at $3,122,832.72. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 252,737 shares of company stock worth $737,292. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CERS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Cerus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Cerus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Cerus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Freedom Broker started coverage on Cerus in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.50 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cerus presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.25.

Cerus Trading Down 0.7%

CERS opened at $2.72 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $548.13 million, a PE ratio of -90.67 and a beta of 1.81. Cerus Corporation has a 1-year low of $1.17 and a 1-year high of $3.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.46.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 3.06% and a negative return on equity of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $63.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.90 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cerus Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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