Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) PT Lowered to $3.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) had its price target dropped by Stifel Nicolaus from $6.00 to $3.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 104.08% from the company’s previous close.

Cerus Stock Down 18.3 %

Shares of Cerus stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,716,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,858. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $271.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 1.18. Cerus has a 1-year low of $1.21 and a 1-year high of $2.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.93.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $45.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.50 million. Cerus had a negative return on equity of 44.27% and a negative net margin of 14.15%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cerus will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cerus news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total transaction of $61,879.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,995.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total value of $61,879.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,995.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 21,605 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total value of $54,012.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 438,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,095,017.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CERS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 73,372 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in Cerus by 51.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 8,411 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Cerus by 4.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 192,873 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 8,982 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its position in Cerus by 38.4% in the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 35,074 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 9,737 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Cerus by 4.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 252,444 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 10,739 shares during the period. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.