Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $920,000 Stock Holdings in Cerus Corporation $CERS

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Cerus stake by 74.8% in the second quarter, selling 936,043 shares and retaining 315,050 shares worth approximately $920,000. Institutional investors collectively own 78.37% of Cerus.
• Cerus reported quarterly revenue of $63.3 million and adjusted earnings per share of $(0.01), matching analyst expectations. Analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $0.04 per share.
• Cerus shares recently traded at $2.98, up 4.9%, while analyst opinion remained mixed: the stock has an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $4.00.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 74.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,050 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 936,043 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.16% of Cerus worth $920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Cerus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Cerus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Cerus during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cerus during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Cerus during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Cerus news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 24,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $71,527.26. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 966,657 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,971.58. This represents a 2.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $99,007.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,062,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,122,832.72. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 239,404 shares of company stock valued at $697,893. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Cerus Trading Up 4.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CERS opened at $2.98 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $2.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.43. Cerus Corporation has a 1 year low of $1.15 and a 1 year high of $3.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $600.53 million, a P/E ratio of -99.33 and a beta of 1.81.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CERS shares. BTIG Research upgraded 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. Zacks Research upgraded Cerus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Cerus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.00.

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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