Whitegate Investment Counselors Inc. Trims Stake in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Whitegate Investment Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 54.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,049 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 35,000 shares during the quarter. Whitegate Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Cerus were worth $63,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CERS. Sepio Capital LP grew its position in shares of Cerus by 789.1% during the third quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 3,497,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,280,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,062 shares in the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC grew its position in Cerus by 33.2% in the third quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 7,258,826 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,738 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cerus during the third quarter worth approximately $2,928,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Cerus by 1,878.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 1,292,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,914,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,175,000 after purchasing an additional 852,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $128,368.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,244,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,684,477.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO William Mariner Greenman sold 62,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $128,368.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,244,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,684,477.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Carol Moore sold 20,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.02, for a total value of $41,650.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 490,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,058.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,516 shares of company stock valued at $372,912 over the last three months. 7.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cerus Trading Down 8.0 %

Shares of Cerus stock traded down $0.14 on Friday, hitting $1.62. 2,509,244 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 870,566. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $299.52 million, a PE ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.87. Cerus Co. has a 52 week low of $1.21 and a 52 week high of $3.08.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative return on equity of 58.30% and a negative net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $46.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.80 million. Equities research analysts predict that Cerus Co. will post -0.09 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CERS. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Cerus in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Cerus from $3.00 to $4.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $2.50 price objective on shares of Cerus in a research note on Thursday, March 7th.

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.