On Thursday, Shares of Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ: CERS) declined -1.82% to $5.92. The stock grabbed the investor’s attention and traded 128,810 shares as compared to its average daily volume of 693.04K shares. The stock’s institutional ownership stands at 67.90%.
Cerus Corporation (CERS) recently declared complete financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.
Revenue:
Product revenue during the fourth quarter of 2018 was $16.50M, contrast to $16.20M during the same period in 2017. Strong gains in fourth quarter platelet kit sales were partially offset by a year-over-year decline in illuminator sales. During the fourth quarter of 2017, total product revenue benefited from illuminator shipments following the Company’s expanded supply agreement with EFS, the French National Blood Service, and large plasma kit orders to distributors. Full-year 2018 product revenue totaled $60.90M, a boost of 40% contrast to 2017 product revenue.
Government contract revenue from the Company’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) agreement was $3.70M during the fourth quarter of 2018, contrast to $2.40M during the same period in 2017, as a result of increasing INTERCEPT red blood cell clinical and development activities. Government contract revenue from the Company’s BARDA agreement for the year ended December 31, 2018, was $15.10M contrast to $7.80M for the year ended December 31, 2017. The total potential value of the current BARDA agreement is $201.0M with $25.0M recognized as revenue to date.
Operating Expenses:
Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter 2018 were $27.30M contrast to $20.30M for the same period the prior year. Full-year 2018 operating expenses totaled $99.40M contrast to $86.30M for the full-year 2017.
Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled $14.80M, contrast to $12.60M for the fourth quarter of 2017. The year-over-year increase was mainly tied to higher commercial activity in the U.S. Full-year 2018 SG&A expenses totaled $56.80M, contrast to $52.60M for the full-year 2017 with the increase mainly tied to higher headcount and compensation related costs.
Research and development (R&D) expenses for the fourth quarter of 2018 were $12.40M, contrast to $7.80M for the fourth quarter of 2017. The increase in year-over-year R&D expenses was mainly because of additional activities and costs tied to the development of INTERCEPT red blood cell system, counting preparation for the CE Mark submission, trials and activities in pursuit of a potential FDA approval of INTERCEPT red blood cells and activities aimed at obtaining expanded label claims for INTERCEPT platelets and plasma. Full-year 2018 R&D expenses totaled $42.60M, contrast to $33.70M for the full-year 2017. The increase in full-year 2018 R&D expenses contrast to full-year 2017 R&D expenses was mainly because of costs associated with clinical development of INTERCEPT red blood cell system, the pursuit of supplemental approvals for the platelet and plasma systems, and activities related to the BARDA agreement.
Net Loss:
Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $16.20M, or $0.12 per diluted share, contrast to a net loss of $11.50M, or $0.10 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2017. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2018, was $57.60M, or $0.44 per diluted share, contrast to a net loss of $60.60M, or $0.56 per diluted share, for the same period in 2017.
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments:
At December 31, 2018, the Company had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $117.60M, contrast to $60.70M at December 31, 2017.
At December 31, 2018, the Company had about $29.90M in outstanding debt under its loa contract contrast to $29.80M at December 31, 2017.
2019 Product Revenue Guidance:
The Company anticipates 2019 product revenue to be in the range of $70.0M to $73.0M, representing 15% to 20% growth contrast to 2018 stated product revenue.
CERS has a market value of $832.98M while its EPS was booked as $-0.44 in the last 12 months. The stock has 138.14M shares outstanding. In the profitability analysis, the company has gross profit margin of 58.40% while net profit margin was -75.70%. Beta value of the company was 1.40; beta is used to measure riskiness of the security.
