Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Shares Up 4.9% – What’s Next?

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN)’s share price rose 4.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1.40 and last traded at $1.3950. Approximately 1,232,844 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 10,782,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GERN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Geron from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Geron presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Geron Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.32. The firm has a market cap of $890.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.63 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 5.96, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03). The company had revenue of $47.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.24 million. Geron had a negative net margin of 43.61% and a negative return on equity of 29.63%. On average, analysts anticipate that Geron Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GERN. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Geron during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Geron by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 26,371 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 11,182 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Geron by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 11,074 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geron in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Summit Financial Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Geron in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.71% of the company’s stock.

About Geron

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing novel treatments that target telomerase, an enzyme critical to cancer cell immortality. The company’s research is focused on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, with a pipeline designed to address diseases that have historically had limited therapeutic options.

The lead product candidate, imetelstat, is a first-in-class telomerase inhibitor currently in Phase II and Phase III clinical trials for myelofibrosis and myelodysplastic syndromes.