Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 270,795 Shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its position in 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 firm owned 6,190,889 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 270,795 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 3.33% of Cerus worth $8,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Cerus by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 238,795 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 8,458 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cerus by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 485,797 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 5,721 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter valued at about $277,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Cerus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $376,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cerus by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 209,246 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 6,633 shares during the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cerus Trading Down 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CERS traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $1.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,015,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,333,382. The stock has a market cap of $277.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.50 and a beta of 1.56. Cerus Corporation has a 12 month low of $1.12 and a 12 month high of $2.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. The firm 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cerus Corporation will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cerus 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.