AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 195,112 Shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 938.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 215,901 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 195,112 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Cerus worth $380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cerus by 390.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,060 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Cerus by 658.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 263,839 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 229,074 shares during the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the first quarter worth approximately $405,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its position in shares of Cerus by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 7,750,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,571,000 after acquiring an additional 182,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cerus by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 7,750,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,649,000 after acquiring an additional 182,629 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Trading Down 4.8 %

NASDAQ CERS opened at $1.80 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.93. The company has a market cap of $332.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.59 and a beta of 1.18. Cerus Co. has a 52 week low of $1.21 and a 52 week high of $2.59.

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

Insider Activity

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

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.