Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading 8.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN)’s stock price was up 8.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1.61 and last traded at $1.5850. Approximately 10,818,504 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 15,892,693 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Geron Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.37.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $48.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.43 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 28.86% and a negative net margin of 46.65%. Analysts forecast that Geron Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Geron by 5,092.3% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 38,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 37,581 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Geron in the fourth quarter worth $1,027,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Geron during the fourth quarter worth $171,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Geron by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,225,658 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 265,197 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Geron by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 91,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 46,801 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.