Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 58,456,685 shares, a decrease of 17.0% from the January 15th total of 70,452,831 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,596,651 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Currently, 9.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 9.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 12,596,651 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Geron from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Geron Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GERN traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $1.65. 12,626,440 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,242,712. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 5.96 and a quick ratio of 4.87. Geron has a 12-month low of $1.04 and a 12-month high of $2.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -13.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geron

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GERN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Geron by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 392,534 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 8,123 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Geron by 8.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,372,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 104,840 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Geron by 204.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 34,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 22,993 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Geron by 73.8% during 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. Finally, Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. purchased a new position in Geron during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,937,000. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geron Company Profile

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.