CERUS CORP (CERS)
Health Care · Medical Devices / Blood Safety · NASDAQ
Cerus is a developer of blood safety technologies, specifically pathogen reduction systems designed to protect the blood supply from transfusion-transmitted infections.
What CERUS CORP does
Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on the development and commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System. The company's technology is designed to enhance blood safety by inactivating blood-borne pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites, in donated blood components including platelets and plasma. It is also actively developing a similar system for red blood cells.
Themes: blood safety, pathogen reduction, biomedical technology
Fundamentals
- Price$2.81 as of 2026-08-21 close
- Market cap$566M as of 2026-08-21
- 1-year return+134.2% 2025-08-21 close $1.20 → 2026-08-21 close $2.81
- P/En/a negative earnings
- Net margin-2.7% as of 2026-08-24
- Gross margin+57.2% as of 2026-08-24
- ROE-10.3% as of 2026-08-24
- Debt / equity0.93 as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue growth (YoY)+14.6% as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue CAGR (3y)+7.5% SEC XBRL
- Beta1.83 as of 2026-08-24
- Last reported earnings2026-07-30 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)
How CERS compares in its sector
- net profit marginmiddle range 504 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-08-24
- operating marginmiddle range 504 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-08-24
- gross marginmiddle range 384 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-08-24
- return on equitymiddle range 576 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-08-24
- 3-year revenue CAGRmiddle range 402 covered Health Care peers
- free cash flow (absolute dollars, latest fiscal year)middle range 493 covered Health Care peers, as of FY2025
Position among covered Health Care companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.
How CERUS CORP looks technically
CERUS CORP (CERS) is trading 22.7% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend. Its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 196 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal. There is no clear trend right now — the price is choppy (ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 17, below the 25 that marks a real trend). Momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 52, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30). MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 7 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive). It made a new 20-day low about 16 trading days ago. It is 19.0% below its highest point of the past year.
Trend
9
| Distance from the 200-day | it is trading 22.7% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend | +22.7% |
|---|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | its average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $2.82 | $2.82 |
| 200-day moving average | its average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $2.29 | $2.29 |
| Swing structure | each recent peak has been lower than the one before it and each dip deeper — the pattern chart-watchers call a downtrend, which describes where price has already been and not where it goes next | lower highs and lower lows |
| Last swing turn | its last significant turn was a swing low 21 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on | 21 sessions |
| Wave structure | its recent swings can be read as a five-part downward sequence — what Elliott-wave chartists call an impulse — now in the fourth leg, a pullback against that downward direction; the labelling fails if price closes above 2.92. It is one of several labellings that fit, and it describes the swings already printed, not what comes next. The same swings also read as a completed three-part correction. | possible downward five-wave sequence, in wave 4 (one of several readings) |
| Since the 50/200 cross | its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 196 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal | 196 sessions |
| Above the 200-day after a dip | it recently dipped to its 200-day average (the long-term trend line) and has since climbed back above it — now about 22.7% above | +22.7% |
| Trend strength (14-day ADX) | there is no clear trend right now — the price is choppy (ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 17, below the 25 that marks a real trend) | 17.2 |
Momentum
3
| 14-day RSI | momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 52, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30) | 52.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Position in its 14-day range | it is trading in the upper half of its 14-day range ($2.06 to $3.08) — its "stochastic" reading is 74 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been slipping within that range over the last few sessions. | 73.8 |
| Since the MACD crossed zero | MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 7 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive) | 7 sessions |
Range
12
| 52-week high | its highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $3.47 | $3.47 |
|---|---|---|
| From the 52-week high | it is 19.0% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year) | -19.0% |
| Above the 52-week low | it is 144.3% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year) | +144.3% |
| Below the 52-week high | it is 19.0% below its highest point of the past year | 19.0% |
| Since a 20-day breakout | it made a new 20-day low about 16 trading days ago | 16 sessions |
| Since a 55-day breakout | it made a new 55-day low about 16 trading days ago | 16 sessions |
| All-time high | its highest closing price on record is $14.76 (set on 2006-02-01) | $14.76 |
| Given back of the 52-week move | over the past year its closes ranged ($1.16 to $3.28), and it has given back roughly a quarter of its rise from last year’s low — 22% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $1.90 to $1.97. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast. | 22.2% |
| From the all-time high | it is 81.0% below its all-time high | -81.0% |
| Nearest price level | it is trading 4.5% below a resistance level at $2.94 — a price it turned at twice since 2026-01-14, most recently on 2026-07-14. Since 2024-08-21 it has 12 such levels below the current price and 1 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go. | +4.5% |
| All-time low | its lowest closing price on record is $0.55 (set on 2008-12-17) | $0.55 |
| Above the all-time low | it is 410.9% above its all-time low | +410.9% |
Volatility
5
| Band width vs its own 6 months | day-to-day price swings are about average versus its own recent 6-month history | 69th percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily range | in a typical session it travels about $0.1816 between its high and its low — about 6.5% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was | $0.1816 |
| Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ) | most of its recent trading has stayed between about $2.05 and $3.25 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles | $2.05 – $2.65 – $3.25 |
| Typical daily range (% of price) | its price moves about 6.5% in a typical session — more volatile than most companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price | 6.5% |
| Stretch from the 200-day average | it is trading 2.9 daily ranges above its 200-day average price (22.7% above it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale | 2.9 daily ranges above its 200-day average |
Volume
1
| Volume vs its 30-day average | trading volume is about normal versus its 30-day average | 0.91× |
|---|
Analyst
2
| Change in the average price target | analysts have raised their average price target by 3.7% since the prior reading | +3.7% |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the consensus rating | the analyst consensus rating is unchanged since the prior reading | unchanged |
Candlestick patterns
1
| Since a doji | today it opened and closed at almost the same price after trading through a wider range — a "doji", the classic picture of buyers and sellers finishing the session level | today |
|---|
Price gaps
3
| Gap at the open | it opened on 2026-08-21 0.7% above the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and traded back through that level before the close | +0.7% |
|---|---|---|
| Open gap | it gapped 3.2% above the previous close 2 sessions ago and has not traded back through the level it left behind at 2.76 — an "unfilled gap", which describes a price range no trade has since crossed and is not a forecast that it will be crossed | +3.2% |
| Gap filled | a 2.8% gap up opened on 2026-08-03 has been "filled" 14 sessions ago — price traded back through the level the gap left behind, and it closed again during the very session that opened it | 14 sessions ago |
Price streaks
1
| Closing streak | it closed higher in its latest session, after a session that did not close higher — a single up day rather than a run | 1 session up |
|---|
Relative strength
4
| vs market, 1 month | over the past 1 month this stock lagged the market by 12.3 percentage points (the stock lost 9.9% while the market gained 2.3%) | -12.3% |
|---|---|---|
| vs market, 3 months | over the past 3 months this stock lagged the market by 0.5 percentage points (the stock gained 2.6% while the market gained 3.1%) | -0.5% |
| vs market, 6 months | over the past 6 months this stock beat the market by 5.5 percentage points (the stock gained 16.6% while the market gained 11.1%) | +5.5% |
| vs market, 12 months | over the past 12 months this stock beat the market by 113.7 percentage points (the stock gained 134.2% while the market gained 20.5%) | +113.7% |
Signal agreement
2
| Bullish technical signals | 4 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bullish state: a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day, trading above its 200-day average, MACD momentum is positive, outperforming the market over 6 months — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 4 of 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Bearish technical signals | 0 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bearish state — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 0 of 9 |
Trend (Ichimoku cloud)
1
| Vs the Ichimoku cloud | trading inside the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-07-16 and projected forward over today's price, the zone traders read as unresolved — neither side has established a trend, and the band is where that gets settled. The band itself is thick, spanning 14.0% of the share price, which is taken to mean a barrier that has held for a while and takes effort to cross. | 0.0% |
|---|
Volume-weighted price
2
| Vs this year’s average price paid | the price is 12% above the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $2.52 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 156 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +11.7% |
|---|---|---|
| Vs the average paid since it last reported | the price is 13% above the average price paid since it last reported on 2026-07-30 (its 10-Q), so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $2.50 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 17 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +12.6% |
Price levels it has turned at before
CERS last closed at $2.81 on 2026-08-21. Since 2024-08-21 it has turned at 12 prices below its last close and 1 above; the 3 nearest below and the nearest above are listed, nearest first.
| Level | Side | Distance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2.94 | Resistance | 4.5% above the last close | turned there twice · 2026-01-14 to 2026-07-14 |
| $2.25 | Support | 20.0% below the last close | turned there twice · 2025-01-28 to 2025-12-17 |
| $2.13 | Support | 24.0% below the last close | turned there twice · 2024-09-16 to 2026-04-17 |
| $2.04 | Support | 27.2% below the last close | turned there three times · 2024-11-11 to 2026-07-31 |
A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Wave structure
Its recent swings can be read as a five-part downward sequence — what Elliott-wave chartists call an impulse — now in leg 4 of five, a pullback against that direction.
This labelling fails — stops being a possible reading at all — if it closes above $2.92.
This is one of several labellings that fit the same swings, so treat it as a reading rather than the reading. It was chosen from 2 labellings that survived the rules, counting shorter readings of the same bars.
On past moves of this shape the leg has usually ended somewhere between $2.35 and $2.67 — that is where it has tended to end if the count holds, not a forecast of where the price goes.
Alternate reading: The same swings also read as a completed three-part correction, which fails on a close below $2.06.
This reading has stood for 3 trading days, since 2026-08-19.
Read from daily closes as of 2026-08-21.
An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.
Screens: Trading above the 200-day moving average · Tested and reclaimed 200-day support · trendless / choppy (low ADX) · Analyst price target recently RAISED · beating the market · Printed a doji candle | Learn: moving average · golden cross · adx · rsi · macd · breakout · fifty two week high low
Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-08-21. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.
Analyst consensus
- Consensus ratingStrong Buy (1.00 mean, 1=Strong Buy…5=Strong Sell) — 3 analysts
- Mean price target$4.67 range $4.00 – $5.00; median $5.00
Analyst estimates, as of 2026-08-19. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.
Analyst EPS estimate for CERS
- Consensus EPS estimate-$0.015 next reporting period, as of 2026-08-19
Change over time is not available yet: it needs two readings of the same reporting period at least 30 days apart, and we have been recording these estimates since 2026-08-04. An estimate for a DIFFERENT quarter is not a revision, so a reading from before the last report is never compared with one after it.
The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Heavy reliance on sole-source suppliers for key products and components.","Uncertainty regarding regulatory approval timelines and data requirements for new product applications (e.g., red blood cell system).","Potential need for additional capital to maintain operations and sustain growth."]
What changed in the latest 10-Q
AI-assisted comparison of CERS's 10-Q filed 2026-04-30 against the prior one filed 2025-11-06.
Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
- Added:
- Reference to year ended December 31, 2025 (newer filing, filed 2026-04-30)
- Reference to three months ended March 31, 2026 (newer filing, filed 2026-04-30)
- Addition of 'the Middle East' as a geopolitical conflict area in macroeconomic developments bullet point (newer filing, filed 2026-04-30)
- Addition of 'as well as the risk of a global conflict' in macroeconomic developments bullet point (newer filing, filed 2026-04-30)
- Change from 'the current U.S. government shutdown' to 'U.S. government shutdowns' in BARDA/DoD funding bullet point (newer filing, filed 2026-04-30)
- Removed:
- Reference to year ended December 31, 2024 (older filing, filed 2025-11-06)
- Reference to 'three and nine months ended September 30, 2025' (older filing, filed 2025-11-06)
- Reference to 'the current U.S. government shutdown' (older filing, filed 2025-11-06)
- Reworded:
- Macroeconomic bullet: 'the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia' changed to 'the ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, the Middle East, as well as the risk of a global conflict' (newer filing, filed 2026-04-30)
- BARDA/DoD bullet: 'the current U.S. government shutdown or otherwise' changed to 'U.S. government shutdowns or otherwise' (newer filing, filed 2026-04-30)
- Notes:
- Page number changed from 23 (older) to 22 (newer), likely due to layout differences
- Text appears truncated at end of both versions; comparison limited to provided text
Risk Factors
- Added:
- Added reference to 'Item 1A— Risk Factors' in Part II in newer filing (2026-04-30)
- Added language about 'Should interest rates increase, the rates that we are obligated to pay under our credit agreements would increase, leading to higher interest expense' in Interest Expense section (2026-04-30)
- Added Contract assets related to DoD disclosure of $0.2 million and $0.4 million as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025 (2026-04-30)
- Removed:
- Removed comparison data for nine months ended September 30 in Selling, General and Administrative Expenses table; newer filing shows only three months ended March 31 comparison (2026-04-30)
- Removed narrative explaining that SG&A expenses 'slightly increased' and reference to 'ERC refund received during the third quarter of 2025' (2026-04-30)
- Removed nine months ended September 30 comparison data from Non-Operating Expense, Net table (2026-04-30)
- Removed detailed explanation that 'Other income, net increased...due in part to the interest portion of the ERC refund received during the third quarter of 2025' (2026-04-30)
- Removed nine months ended September 30 comparison data from Provision for Income Taxes table (2026-04-30)
- Removed reference to 'Contract liabilities related to DoD' and changed to 'Contract assets related to DoD' with different amounts ($0.2M and $0.4M vs. $1.3M and $0.5M) (2026-04-30)
- Removed narrative language 'including the post-approval studies or registry studies we are and may be required to conduct in connection with the approvals of the platelet system' from Capital Requirements section (2026-04-30)
- Reworded:
- Changed comparison periods from 'three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024' to 'three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025' throughout the filing (2026-04-30)
- Changed Foreign Exchange description from 'loss' in both periods to 'gain' in 2026 period (2026-04-30)
- Changed 'Foreign exchange loss' table header to 'Foreign Exchange Gain (Loss)' (2026-04-30)
- Changed section header from 'Foreign Exchange Loss' to 'Foreign Exchange Gain (Loss)' (2026-04-30)
- Changed Interest Expense narrative from stating it 'decreased during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025' to 'decreased during the three months ended March 31, 2026' (2026-04-30)
- Changed narrative explanation of Interest Expense to remove reference to comparative period results and add forward-looking statement about rate increases (2026-04-30)
- Changed 'Other income, net increased' to 'Other income, net decreased' in newer filing (2026-04-30)
- Changed comparison dates in Liquidity and Capital Resources from September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024 to March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025 (2026-04-30)
- Changed cash flow analysis from nine months ended September 30 comparisons to three months ended March 31 comparisons (2026-04-30)
- Changed explanation of operating activities increase from 'increase in inventory related purchases' to 'timing of cash collections and payments' (2026-04-30)
- Changed investing activities narrative from 'higher purchases of investments' to 'higher proceeds from the maturity of our investments' (2026-04-30)
- Changed financing activities narrative from reference to 'Term Loan Credit Agreement proceeds' in prior year to 'higher proceeds from the Revolving Loan Credit Agreement' (2026-04-30)
- Changed working capital decrease explanation to reference '$8.1 million of long-term debt...reclassification' instead of '$16.3 million' (2026-04-30)
- Notes:
- The newer filing appears to be truncated at the end of the Capital Requirements section, making complete comparison impossible for that section
- Comparison is between Q3 2025 10-Q (older filing dated 2025-11-06) and Q1 2026 10-Q (newer filing dated 2026-04-30), representing different fiscal periods and different reporting quarters
AI-assisted comparison of two SEC filing sections. It describes wording and theme changes only, makes no materiality, legal, or investment judgement, and is not financial advice. Informational only — not financial advice.
Insider activity (SEC Form 4)
0 open-market purchases and 7 open-market sales by insiders in the last 90 days.
- Last 90 days0 buys · 7 sells ($751145) — 5 selling insiders
- Last 180 days0 buys · 8 sells ($801146) — 5 selling insiders
Activity heuristic: net selling (a transparent product heuristic from the counts above, not a prediction or advice)
Most recent open-market transaction: 2026-07-16. As of 2026-08-24.
View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filingsAsk about CERS's insider activity →
Only open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.
Institutional ownership (13F)
6 institutional 13F filers reported holding CERS as of 2026-03-31 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).
- Distinct 13F filers 6
- Reported shares held 46,924,706
- Reported value $85,402,965
reported quarterly holdings change (2025-12-31 → 2026-03-31): 0 new, 4 increased, 2 decreased, 0 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".
Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.
Short interest (FINRA)
CERS had 14,960,162 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).
CERS had 7.42% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 5.71 days to cover at the same settlement.
- Reported short interest (shares) 14,960,162
- Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 7.42%
- Prior settlement (shares) 13,688,689
- Reported change 9.29%
- Days to cover (reported) 5.71
Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-07-31 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
What does CERUS CORP (CERS) do?
Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on the development and commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System. The company's technology is designed to enhance blood safety by inactivating blood-borne pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites, in donated blood components including platelets and plasma. It is also actively developing a similar system for red blood cells.
What sector is CERUS CORP (CERS) in?
CERUS CORP (CERS) is classified in the Health Care sector. Its industry is Medical Devices / Blood Safety. It trades on NASDAQ.
Is CERUS CORP (CERS) overbought or oversold right now?
CERUS CORP (CERS) is currently neither overbought nor oversold — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 52, in the neutral middle (as of 2026-08-21). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.
Where does stocks-llm's data on CERS come from?
Fundamentals and prices come from market data, as of 2026-08-24; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.
Fundamentals: market data, as of 2026-08-24. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-08-21.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.