Franklin Resources Inc. Has $177,000 Holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 13.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,338 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.05% of Cerus worth $177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning lifted its position in Cerus by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 8,411 shares in the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its stake in shares of Cerus by 38.4% in the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 35,074 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 9,737 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cerus during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cerus during the second quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus in the third quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Cerus from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 162,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,596.74. The trade was a 10.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of CERS opened at $1.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.89. Cerus Co. has a 52-week low of $1.38 and a 52-week high of $2.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.57 million, a PE ratio of -14.27 and a beta of 1.24.

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.