Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,416,038 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 432,060 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.61% of Cerus worth $16,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockport Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of CERS traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1.48. The company had a trading volume of 246,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,430. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $274.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.45 and a beta of 1.70. Cerus Co. has a 12-month low of $1.12 and a 12-month high of $2.54.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cerus

In related news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 23,023 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.55, for a total transaction of $35,685.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,230,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,006,500. This trade represents a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 60,656 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total value of $95,836.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 493,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $780,301.96. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 441,150 shares of company stock worth $665,210. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.