Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New Investment in Geron Corporation $GERN

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 1.62 million Geron shares worth approximately $2.07 million in the second quarter, giving it a 0.25% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 73.71% of Geron.
• Geron reported quarterly revenue of $57.48 million, exceeding the $55.30 million consensus estimate, but its loss of $0.02 per share was wider than expected. Analysts forecast a full-year loss of $0.04 per share.
• Geron shares opened at $1.57, within a 52-week range of $1.04 to $2.01. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and a $4.00 target price, while the company continues advancing its lead drug candidate, imetelstat, in Phase II and III trials.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,618,246 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,071,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.25% of Geron as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Geron by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 392,534 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 8,123 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Geron by 8.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,372,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 104,840 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Geron by 8.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 550,871 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 42,345 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Geron by 4.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 873,893 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 34,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Geron by 72.3% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 79,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 33,352 shares during the period. 73.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Geron Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GERN opened at $1.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.27 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 5.16 and a current ratio of 6.91. Geron Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $1.04 and a fifty-two week high of $2.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.47.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.01). Geron had a negative return on equity of 24.48% and a negative net margin of 34.17%.The company had revenue of $57.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.30 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Geron Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Geron from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.00.

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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