Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Purchased by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 249.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 181,400 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.14% of Cerus worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Rockport Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Cerus in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Cerus during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cerus during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Cerus

In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 71,086 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total value of $103,074.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,238,672 shares in the company, valued at $6,146,074.40. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 23,147 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total value of $33,563.15. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 912,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,323,280.15. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,167 shares of company stock valued at $207,592. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of CERS traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $1.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,131,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,305,979. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.56. Cerus Co. has a fifty-two week low of $1.12 and a fifty-two week high of $2.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.36 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $43.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.44 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 EPS for the current 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.