Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 11,157,844 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 10,309,587 shares.The stock last traded at $4.28 and had previously closed at $4.27.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.05. Geron had a negative net margin of 15,990.68% and a negative return on equity of 73.79%. The business had revenue of $28.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17138.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GERN shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Geron to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Geron in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Geron to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Geron presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Geron during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $106,185,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Geron in the second quarter worth $3,315,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Geron by 999.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,064,963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,877,184 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geron during the 2nd quarter valued at $539,000. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Geron by 124.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 16,837,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $71,389,000 after purchasing an additional 9,342,000 shares during the period. 73.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Geron Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.31 and a 200-day moving average of $4.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 3.61 and a quick ratio of 3.60.

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.