Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 48.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 15,772 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cerus were worth $29,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cerus by 390.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,170,060 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Cerus by 658.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 263,839 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 229,074 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cerus by 938.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 215,901 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 195,112 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cerus in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $265,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cerus by 4.4% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,696,560 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,096,000 after acquiring an additional 114,628 shares in the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In related news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total value of $61,879.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,995.70. This represents a 4.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cerus Stock Performance

NASDAQ CERS opened at $1.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $326.85 million, a PE ratio of -15.86 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.59. Cerus Co. has a 52-week low of $1.38 and a 52-week high of $2.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.