Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,372 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Cerus were worth $129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CERS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Cerus by 451.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 12,179 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cerus during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd bought a new position in Cerus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Cerus by 202.4% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 57,765 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 38,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $180,000. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cerus

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

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CERS opened at $1.70 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.93. Cerus Co. has a 52-week low of $1.21 and a 52-week high of $2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.31 million, a P/E ratio of -10.00 and a beta of 1.18.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $45.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.07) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cerus Co. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Cerus from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3.63.

Cerus 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.