Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 10,766,701 shares, a decline of 41.9% from the May 14th total of 18,522,745 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,541,848 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on CERS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cerus in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cerus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Cerus from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cerus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 16,667 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.00, for a total transaction of $50,001.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,656,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,970,121. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.60, for a total value of $53,180.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 261,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $680,365.40. This represents a 7.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 53,788 shares of company stock valued at $153,182 over the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CERS. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Cerus during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CERS traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.46. 1,727,393 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,999,880. Cerus has a twelve month low of $1.15 and a twelve month high of $3.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.21. The stock has a market cap of $491.91 million, a P/E ratio of -49.10 and a beta of 1.76.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.02. Cerus had a negative net margin of 4.41% and a negative return on equity of 15.18%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.68 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Cerus will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company dedicated to enhancing the safety of blood transfusions worldwide. Its flagship offering, the INTERCEPT Blood System, employs pathogen reduction technology designed to inactivate a broad spectrum of viruses, bacteria, and parasites in donated platelets and plasma. This approach aims to mitigate the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections and improve blood component safety for patients.

The INTERCEPT platform integrates seamlessly into existing blood center workflows, providing a one-step treatment process for collected blood products.