ARK Investment Management LLC Has $45.18 Million Stock Holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,914,326 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 852,420 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC owned about 11.54% of Cerus worth $45,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Cerus by 1.5% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 263,790 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cerus by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 20,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 4,445 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,453 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 197,141 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 5,341 shares during the period. Finally, Silverarc Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cerus by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC now owns 1,158,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,849,000 after buying an additional 5,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Cerus Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of CERS traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $1.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,229,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,455. The company's fifty day moving average price is $2.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.82. Cerus Co. has a one year low of $1.21 and a one year high of $3.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $342.62 million, a PE ratio of -9.00 and a beta of 1.31.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 23.98% and a negative return on equity of 67.17%. The business had revenue of $46.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $46.80 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cerus Co. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Cerus in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $2.50 price target on shares of Cerus in a research report on Thursday, March 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cerus news, SVP Carol Moore sold 20,619 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.02, for a total value of $41,650.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 490,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $991,058.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Carol Moore sold 20,619 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.02, for a total transaction of $41,650.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 490,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,058.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $128,368.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,244,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,684,477.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 177,516 shares of company stock valued at $372,912. Company insiders own 7.05% of the company's stock.

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.