Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) Short Interest Up 16.2% in December

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

Cerus Stock Performance

Shares of CERS traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1.79. 1,057,729 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,131,067. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.89. Cerus has a 52-week low of $1.38 and a 52-week high of $2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.42 million, a PE ratio of -16.27 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Cerus from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Activity at Cerus

In related news, Director Eric Bjerkholt sold 20,000 shares of Cerus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total value of $35,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 162,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $288,596.74. The trade was a 10.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.