Senvest Management LLC Has $10.45 Million Stock Position in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS)

Senvest Management LLC reduced its holdings in Cerus Co. (NASDAQ:CERS) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,006,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,271,126 shares during the period. Senvest Management LLC owned about 3.23% of Cerus worth $10,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cerus by 390.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,170,060 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Cerus by 726.1% in the 3rd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 313,522 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 275,569 shares during the period. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Cerus by 87.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 505,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 235,082 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Cerus by 658.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 263,839 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 229,074 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Cerus during the 3rd quarter valued at $353,000. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin Dennis Green sold 28,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total transaction of $61,879.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 590,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,995.70. This represents a 4.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cerus Price Performance

Shares of CERS opened at $1.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market cap of $332.42 million, a PE ratio of -16.27 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.92. Cerus Co. has a twelve month low of $1.38 and a twelve month high of $2.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.