Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading Up 7.3% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) shot up 7.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $1.7493 and last traded at $1.77. 4,063,418 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 12,097,776 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Geron Trading Up 9.1%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of -15.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a current ratio of 5.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. 55 North Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Geron during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Geron by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Vistica Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Geron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Geron by 3,307.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 25,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 24,410 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Geron by 73.6% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 26,371 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 11,182 shares during the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is 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.