11/25 report on CRERUS from Zolmax News:
Cerus Corp. (NASDAQ:CERS) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.10.
CERS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Cerus Corp. in a report on Sunday, July 31st. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Cerus Corp. in a report on Thursday, October 27th. FBR & Co reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Cerus Corp. in a report on Thursday, August 11th. Zacks Investment Research cut Cerus Corp. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $10.00 target price on Cerus Corp. and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 6th.
Shares of Cerus Corp. (NASDAQ:CERS) opened at 5.76 on Thursday. The stock’s market capitalization is $595.96 million. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.03. Cerus Corp. has a 52 week low of $4.22 and a 52 week high of $7.64.
Cerus Corp. (NASDAQ:CERS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.03. The firm earned $10.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.34 million. Cerus Corp. had a negative return on equity of 76.76% and a negative net margin of 174.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Cerus Corp. will post ($0.64) EPS for the current fiscal year.
In related news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 17,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.80, for a total transaction of $116,620.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baker BROS. Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus Corp. during the third quarter worth $81,061,000. BlackRock Fund Advisors raised its stake in shares of Cerus Corp. by 5.6% in the third quarter. BlackRock Fund Advisors now owns 4,169,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,891,000 after buying an additional 219,507 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cerus Corp. by 12.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,104,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,613,000 after buying an additional 463,013 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus Corp. during the third quarter worth $20,642,000. Finally, Elk Creek Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cerus Corp. by 12.1% in the second quarter. Elk Creek Partners LLC now owns 2,763,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,747,000 after buying an additional 299,125 shares during the period. 67.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
