Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 40.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 536,789 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 155,038 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.29% of Cerus worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockport Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cerus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cerus during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Cerus in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Cerus in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Insider Transactions at Cerus

In other Cerus news, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 18,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.45, for a total transaction of $27,476.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 715,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,037,982.50. This represents a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 23,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.55, for a total value of $35,685.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,230,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,006,500. This trade represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 441,150 shares of company stock worth $665,210 over the last quarter. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cerus Stock Performance

CERS opened at $1.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Cerus Co. has a 12-month low of $1.12 and a 12-month high of $2.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.15 million, a PE ratio of -12.18 and a beta of 1.58.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $43.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.44 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 11.60% and a negative return on equity of 40.55%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cerus Co. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

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.