Ieq Capital LLC Buys Shares of 2,406,330 Cerus Corporation $CERS

Key Points

• Ieq Capital purchased 2.41 million Cerus shares worth approximately $7.0 million, giving it a 1.19% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 78.37% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Cerus has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $4.00, with ratings ranging from Buy to Sell.
• Cerus reported quarterly revenue of $63.3 million and adjusted earnings of $(0.01) per share, matching analysts’ expectations. The stock opened at $2.81, compared with a 52-week range of $1.17 to $3.47.

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,406,330 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $7,026,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned approximately 1.19% of Cerus at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CERS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in 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 in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Cerus by 2.6% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 8,533,758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,033,000 after buying an additional 213,917 shares during the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC raised its holdings in Cerus by 3.8% during the first quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 4,114,061 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,488,000 after buying an additional 148,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cerus by 17.6% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,470,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,517,000 after buying an additional 519,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CERS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research raised Cerus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cerus in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cerus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cerus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,454 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.60, for a total value of $53,180.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 261,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $680,365.40. This represents a 7.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 42,359 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $124,535.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,694,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,981,383.12. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 269,404 shares of company stock worth $787,293. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cerus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CERS opened at $2.81 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $2.83 and its 200-day moving average is $2.44. The company has a market cap of $566.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.67 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.83. Cerus Corporation has a 52-week low of $1.17 and a 52-week high of $3.47.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 3.06% and a negative return on equity of 10.19%. The business had revenue of $63.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.90 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cerus Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current 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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