ARK Investment Management LLC Acquires 852,420 Shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,914,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 852,420 shares during the quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC owned about 11.54% of Cerus worth $45,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CERS. Sepio Capital LP increased its holdings in Cerus by 789.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 3,497,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,280,000 after buying an additional 3,104,062 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted 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. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,408,323 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 221,859 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 593,092 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 71,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Cerus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,928,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $3.00 target price on shares of Cerus in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $2.50 target price on shares of Cerus in a research report on Thursday, March 7th.

Cerus Stock Up 2.9 %

Cerus stock opened at $1.79 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.82. The firm has a market cap of $324.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 1.31. 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 52-week low of $1.21 and a 52-week high of $3.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction 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 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other Cerus news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $128,368.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,244,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,684,477.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 17,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total transaction of $35,967.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 508,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,047,996.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,516 shares of company stock worth $372,912 in the last quarter. 7.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cerus Company 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.