Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 270,795 Shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,190,889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 270,795 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Cerus were worth $8,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rockport Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Cerus during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Cerus during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Cerus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Cerus Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CERS opened at $1.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.51. The company has a market cap of $286.74 million, a PE ratio of -15.00 and a beta of 1.56. Cerus Corporation has a 52-week low of $1.12 and a 52-week high of $2.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $43.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.44 million. Cerus had a negative net margin of 10.23% and a negative return on equity of 34.81%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cerus Corporation will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.