Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Insider Richard J. Benjamin Sells 18,949 Shares

Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 18,949 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total value of $27,476.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 715,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,037,982.50. This represents a 2.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of Cerus stock opened at $1.45 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.75. Cerus Co. has a 52-week low of $1.38 and a 52-week high of $2.54. The firm has a market cap of $269.40 million, a PE ratio of -13.18 and a beta of 1.56. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $50.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.81 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 40.55% and a negative net margin of 11.60%. On average, analysts predict that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Cerus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 2,084.7% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 492,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 470,178 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 249.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 254,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 181,400 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 121.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 595,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 326,605 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 129,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 36,488 shares during the period. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.