Insider Selling: Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) CEO Sells 78,187 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 78,187 shares on March 6 at an average price of $2.01 for $157,155.87, reducing his stake by 1.42% to 5,446,250 shares (about $10.95M post-sale).
• Cerus shares traded at $1.93 with elevated volume, the company has a market cap of $370.9M and a negative PE, and it reported a recent quarter meeting EPS estimates (‑$0.01) while beating revenue estimates ($64.58M vs. $59.31M).
• Institutional investors hold about 78.37% of the stock with several funds increasing positions, and analysts show a consensus rating of "Hold" (one Buy, one Sell).

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 78,187 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.01, for a total transaction of $157,155.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 5,446,250 shares in the company, valued at $10,946,962.50. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of Cerus stock remained flat at $1.93 during trading on Monday. 2,029,960 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,640,307. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $2.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.86. The company has a market cap of $370.89 million, a PE ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 1.51. Cerus Corporation has a 1-year low of $1.12 and a 1-year high of $2.96.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative return on equity of 26.09% and a negative net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $64.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.31 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cerus Corporation will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cerus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CERS. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 152.4% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 104,101 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 62,854 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cerus by 291.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,429,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,986,000 after buying an additional 1,064,133 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Cerus by 12.0% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,222,327 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,479,000 after buying an additional 344,395 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Cerus during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Cerus by 339.6% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 94,812 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 73,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CERS shares. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cerus in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cerus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company dedicated to enhancing the safety of blood transfusions worldwide. Its flagship offering, the INTERCEPT Blood System, employs pathogen reduction technology designed to inactivate a broad spectrum of viruses, bacteria, and parasites in donated platelets and plasma. This approach aims to mitigate the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections and improve blood component safety for patients.

The INTERCEPT platform integrates seamlessly into existing blood center workflows, providing a one-step treatment process for collected blood products.

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