Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Stock Position Increased by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 121.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 595,234 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 326,605 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.32% of Cerus worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Cerus by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,814,752 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,055,000 after buying an additional 2,589,721 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Cerus by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 8,319,841 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,813,000 after purchasing an additional 994,007 shares during the period. Senvest Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerus by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 6,393,979 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $9,847,000 after purchasing an additional 387,603 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerus by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,525 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,862,000 after purchasing an additional 39,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Cerus by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,877,932 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 986,286 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 23,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 71,086 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total transaction of $103,074.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,238,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,146,074.40. This represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,167 shares of company stock valued at $207,592 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Cerus Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ CERS traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $1.44. 1,099,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,306,702. Cerus Co. has a twelve month low of $1.12 and a twelve month high of $2.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $275.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.09 and a beta of 1.55. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.55.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 40.55% and a negative net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $43.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.44 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.