Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 470,178 Shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 2,084.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 492,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 470,178 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.27% of Cerus worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CERS. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Cerus by 249.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 254,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 181,400 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Cerus by 121.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 595,234 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 326,605 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 129,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 36,488 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cerus by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,817 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 16,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cerus by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,877,932 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,432,000 after acquiring an additional 986,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Cerus news, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 33,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.50, for a total value of $50,998.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,507,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,260,972.50. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 60,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.50, for a total value of $91,476.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,309,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,464,637. This represents a 1.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 295,437 shares of company stock worth $435,997. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of Cerus stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,175,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,411. The firm has a market cap of $268.58 million, a PE ratio of -12.86 and a beta of 1.58. Cerus Co. has a one year low of $1.12 and a one year high of $2.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.56.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. Cerus had a negative net margin of 11.60% and a negative return on equity of 40.55%. The firm had revenue of $43.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.44 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Cerus in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Cerus Company Profile

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.