Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Reduces Holdings in Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS)

Key Points

• Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. reduced its stake in Cerus Corporation by 4.2%, selling 270,795 shares, and now holds approximately 6.19 million shares valued at $8.54 million.
• Several hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in Cerus, with notable investments including Raymond James Financial Inc. which purchased new shares worth $376,000.
• Cerus reported a quarterly EPS of (0.04), exceeding analysts' expectations, although its revenue of $43.24 million fell short of forecasts.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,190,889 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 270,795 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. owned 3.24% of Cerus worth $8,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 86,787 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 6,665 shares during the last quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 505,020 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 8,238 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 103,032 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 9,010 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 41,787 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 9,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 103,928 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 10,165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of CERS traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $1.36. 796,414 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 859,165. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.38 and a 200-day moving average of $1.48. Cerus Corporation has a 52 week low of $1.12 and a 52 week high of $2.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $43.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.44 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 10.23% and a negative return on equity of 34.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cerus Corporation will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cerus

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.