Short Interest in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Expands By 16.2%

Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,800,000 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the December 15th total of 6,710,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Cerus Trading Down 1.6 %

Cerus stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,057,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,131,067. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Cerus has a 52 week low of $1.38 and a 52 week high of $2.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Cerus from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total transaction of $35,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 162,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,596.74. This trade represents a 10.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cerus

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CERS. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cerus by 390.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after buying an additional 1,170,060 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cerus by 726.1% during the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 313,522 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 275,569 shares in the last quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Cerus by 87.1% in the third quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 505,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 235,082 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Cerus by 658.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 263,839 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 229,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Cerus by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,575,049 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 219,755 shares during the period. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.