Raymond James Trust N.A. Trims Stake in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Posted by on Apr 26th, 2023

Raymond James Trust N.A. lessened its stake in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS – Get Rating) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 24,000 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Cerus were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CERS. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Capital Impact Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cerus by 28.1% in the third quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 20,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 59.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,453 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CERS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens downgraded Cerus from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $3.75 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. BTIG Research lowered Cerus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cerus from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th.

Cerus Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CERS opened at $2.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.62 million, a PE ratio of -9.72 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.82 and a 200-day moving average of $3.30. Cerus Co. has a 52-week low of $2.36 and a 52-week high of $5.95.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $44.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.40 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 26.40% and a negative return on equity of 57.08%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cerus Co. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cerus news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 17,163 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.80, for a total transaction of $48,056.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 421,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,181,031.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Vivek K. Jayaraman sold 25,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.80, for a total transaction of $70,996.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 641,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,210.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 17,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.80, for a total value of $48,056.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 421,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,181,031.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,545 shares of company stock valued at $368,326. 7.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Cerus

(Get Rating)

Cerus Corp. engages in the research, development, and manufacturing of biomedical and surgical products. The firm produces blood system for platelets and plasma. It operates through Blood Safety segment. It markets products under the INTERCEPT brand. The company was founded by Laurence M. Corash and John E.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)

Receive News & Ratings for Cerus Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cerus and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.