Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading Up 10.9% – Here’s What Happened

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) shares shot up 10.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $1.58 and last traded at $1.5750. 3,071,413 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 14,851,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Geron Trading Up 10.3%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 4.66 and a quick ratio of 4.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.05 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GERN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Geron by 2.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 392,534 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 8,123 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Geron by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 92,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 9,849 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Geron by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Geron by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP now owns 80,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Geron by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 11,074 shares during the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is currently 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.