Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Lowers Position in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,568,071 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 344,671 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 4.18% of Cerus worth $16,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cerus by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,914,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,175,000 after acquiring an additional 852,420 shares in the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC lifted its stake in Cerus by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 7,258,826 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,738 shares in the last quarter. Sepio Capital LP lifted its stake in Cerus by 789.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 3,497,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,280,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,062 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cerus during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,928,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Cerus by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,408,323 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 221,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In other news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 29,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 478,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,147,346.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 17,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $70,507.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 478,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,147,346.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 177,516 shares of company stock valued at $372,912. Corporate insiders own 7.05% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Price Performance

CERS stock opened at $1.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.37 million, a P/E ratio of -8.05 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $2.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.85. Cerus Co. has a 1 year low of $1.21 and a 1 year high of $3.08.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative return on equity of 67.17% and a negative net margin of 23.98%. The company had revenue of $46.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.80 million. Analysts anticipate that Cerus Co. will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.