Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading Up 8.5% – Still a Buy?

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) shares shot up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1.69 and last traded at $1.7150. 4,567,547 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 15,384,431 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GERN. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Geron has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.17.

Geron Stock Down 4.6%

The stock has a market cap of $989.63 million, a P/E ratio of -11.88 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.62, a current ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.37.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $48.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.43 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 28.86% and a negative net margin of 46.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Geron Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GERN. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Geron by 157.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,599,221 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,075,000 after buying an additional 2,199,413 shares during the last quarter. Patient Square Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Geron during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,010,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Geron by 71.6% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 3,253,960 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,068 shares during the period. Almitas Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Geron in the third quarter worth $1,296,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Geron by 4.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,956,000 after acquiring an additional 584,444 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is owned by 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.