Stifel Financial Corp Increases Stake in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 264,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,383 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.14% of Cerus worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Cerus by 51.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 8,411 shares during the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its position in Cerus by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 35,074 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 9,737 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cerus in the third quarter worth $71,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cerus during the second quarter worth $97,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the third quarter valued at $121,000. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total value of $35,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 162,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $288,596.74. The trade was a 10.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Cerus from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Cerus Trading Down 6.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CERS opened at $1.56 on Friday. Cerus Co. has a twelve month low of $1.38 and a twelve month high of $2.59. The firm has a market cap of $289.72 million, a PE ratio of -14.18 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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.