Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $4.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 135.99% from the stock’s previous close.

Cerus Price Performance

CERS stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $1.70. 1,329,892 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,461,574. Cerus 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.50 and a beta of 1.29.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 11.19% and a negative return on equity of 37.90%. The business had revenue of $50.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.81 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Cerus will post -0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In other news, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 162,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $288,596.74. This trade represents a 10.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerus

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockport Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Cerus in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Cerus in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Cerus in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Cerus in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Company 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.