Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Shares Down 6% – Here’s What Happened

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN)’s stock price traded down 6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $1.82 and last traded at $1.8050. 1,252,326 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 13,063,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GERN. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Geron from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Geron Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.04 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 4.87, a current ratio of 5.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.34.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GERN. 55 North Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Geron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. LCM Capital Management Inc increased its position in Geron by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Vistica Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Geron during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Geron by 3,307.6% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 25,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 24,410 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Geron by 73.8% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 11,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.71% of the company’s stock.

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.