Richard J. Benjamin Sells 26,139 Shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Stock

Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 26,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.50, for a total value of $39,208.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 734,799 shares in the company, valued at $1,102,198.50. The trade was a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Cerus Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of CERS traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1.47. 637,507 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,302,988. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.73 and a 200-day moving average of $1.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.18 million, a PE ratio of -13.41 and a beta of 1.56. Cerus Co. has a 1-year low of $1.38 and a 1-year high of $2.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 11.60% and a negative return on equity of 40.55%. The company had revenue of $50.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.81 million. Analysts expect that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cerus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CERS. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 2,084.7% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 492,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 470,178 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Cerus by 249.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 254,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 181,400 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Cerus by 121.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 595,234 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 326,605 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Cerus by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 129,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 36,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cerus by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,817 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 16,720 shares during the period. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cerus

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.