Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Sold by Sepio Capital LP

Sepio Capital LP reduced its stake in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 643,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 504,000 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP owned 0.35% of Cerus worth $991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CERS. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Cerus by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 103,032 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 9,010 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerus by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,525 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,862,000 after purchasing an additional 39,072 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 103,928 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 10,165 shares during the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its position in shares of Cerus by 149.3% during the fourth quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 87,455 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 52,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Cerus by 126.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 181,913 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 101,550 shares during the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of CERS traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,363,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,263,063. Cerus Co. has a fifty-two week low of $1.12 and a fifty-two week 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 cap of $256.39 million, a PE ratio of -12.55 and a beta of 1.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.67.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In related news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 60,656 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total value of $95,836.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 493,862 shares in the company, valued at $780,301.96. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 71,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total transaction of $103,074.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,238,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,146,074.40. This trade represents a 1.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 441,150 shares of company stock worth $665,210. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.