Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 27.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,209 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Cerus were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CERS. Sepio Capital LP boosted its stake in Cerus by 789.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 3,497,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,280,000 after buying an additional 3,104,062 shares during the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 7,258,826 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,738 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,928,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 2,655.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,790,930 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 1,878.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 1,292,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,757 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cerus news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $128,368.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,244,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,684,477.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Cerus news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 29,378 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total transaction of $70,507.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 478,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,147,346.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $128,368.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,244,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,684,477.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,516 shares of company stock worth $372,912 in the last three months. 7.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cerus Stock Performance

Cerus stock opened at $1.64 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.30 million, a PE ratio of -7.81 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.14. Cerus Co. has a one year low of $1.21 and a one year high of $3.08.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $46.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.80 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 67.17% and a negative net margin of 23.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cerus Co. will post -0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CERS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $2.50 price objective on shares of Cerus in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Cerus in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $3.00 price target on shares of Cerus in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th.

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.