Globeflex Capital L P Makes New Investment in Cerus Corporation $CERS

Key Points

• Globeflex Capital initiated a Cerus position by purchasing 522,099 shares worth approximately $1.5 million, while institutional investors collectively own 78.37% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with Cerus holding a consensus “Hold” rating and a $4.00 price target; ratings range from “Sell” to “Buy.”
• Cerus reported quarterly revenue of $63.3 million and an adjusted loss of $0.01 per share, matching analyst expectations. The stock opened at $2.69, while insiders have sold 269,404 shares worth about $787,000 over the past 90 days.

Globeflex Capital L P bought a new stake in shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 522,099 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000. Globeflex Capital L P owned 0.26% of Cerus as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CERS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cerus during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,868,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cerus by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,783,986 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,147,000 after purchasing an additional 62,663 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Cerus by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 8,533,758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,033,000 after purchasing an additional 213,917 shares during the period. Senvest Management LLC grew its position in Cerus by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 4,114,061 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 148,812 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Cerus by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,470,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,517,000 after buying an additional 519,301 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cerus in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Cerus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. BTIG Research upgraded Cerus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Cerus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.00.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of Cerus stock opened at $2.69 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $2.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.44. Cerus Corporation has a 52 week low of $1.17 and a 52 week high of $3.47. The company has a market capitalization of $542.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.67 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.90 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 10.19% and a negative net margin of 3.06%. As a group, analysts expect that Cerus Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cerus

In other news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 101,919 shares of the company'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 $299,641.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,053,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,855,925.84. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,404 shares of company stock worth $787,293. Insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

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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