Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CERS. Wall Street Zen lowered Cerus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cerus in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Cerus Trading Down 0.6%

CERS stock opened at $1.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $324.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.13 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.86. Cerus has a 52 week low of $1.12 and a 52 week high of $2.96.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative return on equity of 26.09% and a negative net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $64.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.31 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cerus will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cerus

In related news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 30,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.01, for a total transaction of $61,998.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,059,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,128,869.39. This trade represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 55,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $113,763.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,195,891 shares in the company, valued at $2,463,535.46. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 352,041 shares of company stock valued at $708,170 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cerus

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 152.4% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 104,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 62,854 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cerus by 291.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,429,062 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,986,000 after buying an additional 1,064,133 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cerus by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,222,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,479,000 after buying an additional 344,395 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Cerus in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Cerus by 339.6% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 94,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 73,244 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Company Profile

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.