Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Shares Up 7.1%

Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) was up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $4.69 and last traded at $4.68. Approximately 3,689,958 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 10,800,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GERN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays started coverage on Geron in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Geron in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Geron to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Geron from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.06.

Geron Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of -13.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 3.61 and a quick ratio of 3.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.98.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The business had revenue of $0.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.34 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 73.79% and a negative net margin of 15,990.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2941.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.09) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Geron Co. will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Andrew J. Grethlein sold 674,348 shares of Geron stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.56, for a total value of $3,075,026.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Geron by 1,200.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Geron by 870.0% in the 1st quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Geron during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. American Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Geron in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Geron by 32.7% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,438 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 3,805 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Geron Company Profile

Geron Corporation, a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for myeloid hematologic malignancies. It develops imetelstat, a telomerase inhibitor that is in Phase 3 clinical trials, which inhibits the uncontrolled proliferation of malignant stem and progenitor cells in myeloid hematologic malignancies for the treatment of low or intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes and intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis.