Whitegate Investment Counselors Inc. Has $63,000 Holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Whitegate Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 54.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the 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 SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CERS. JGP Global Gestao de Recursos Ltda. bought a new position in shares of Cerus in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cerus by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,914,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,175,000 after buying an additional 852,420 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Cerus by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 539,633 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 127,866 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cerus by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 188,702 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 14,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bouvel Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Cerus by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 257,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 5,778 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CERS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $2.50 target price on shares of Cerus in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Cerus from $3.00 to $4.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on Cerus in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price for the company.

Cerus Stock Down 8.0 %

CERS stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.62. 2,509,244 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 870,566. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm’s fifty 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. The company has a market cap of $299.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 1.31.

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). Cerus had a negative net margin of 19.27% and a negative return on equity of 58.30%. The company had revenue of $46.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cerus Co. will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 17,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $35,967.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 508,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,047,996.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Chrystal Jensen sold 17,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.06, for a total value of $35,967.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 508,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,996.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard J. Benjamin sold 29,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total transaction of $70,507.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 478,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,147,346.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,516 shares of company stock valued at $372,912. Corporate insiders own 7.05% of the company’s stock.

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.