Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Stock Holdings in Geron Corporation $GERN

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Geron by 59.6% in Q4 to 9,527,083 shares (about 1.49% ownership), valued at roughly $12.58 million.
• Geron missed fiscal-quarter estimates (EPS -$0.05 vs. -$0.03 expected; revenue $48.02M vs. $50.43M), carries negative margins with analysts forecasting ~-0.25 EPS for the year, and the stock trades near $1.74 (market cap ~$1.11B; 52‑week $1.04–$2.01).
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of Hold with a $2.17 target (ratings split: 2 Buy / 3 Hold / 2 Sell), and institutional investors own about 73.7% of the shares.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Free Report) by 59.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,527,083 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,556,160 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 1.49% of Geron worth $12,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Geron by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 392,534 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 8,123 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Geron by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 92,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 9,849 shares in the last quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Geron by 14.3% during 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. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Geron by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 26,371 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 11,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Geron by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 93,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 11,887 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geron Stock Performance

Geron stock opened at $1.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a current ratio of 4.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.38 and a beta of 0.67. Geron Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $1.04 and a fifty-two week high of $2.01.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $48.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50.43 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 28.86% and a negative net margin of 46.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Geron Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on GERN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Geron currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.17.

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.

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