BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Geron Corporation $GERN

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 49.1 million Geron shares worth approximately $62.9 million, giving it a 7.66% stake in the biopharmaceutical company.
• Other institutional investors also increased their positions, with hedge funds and institutions collectively owning 73.71% of Geron’s outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $4.00 target price, while Geron reported a quarterly loss of $0.02 per share despite revenue exceeding expectations.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 49,115,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $62,868,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 7.66% of Geron at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Soleus Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Geron by 572.5% in the 2nd quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 16,140,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $22,757,000 after acquiring an additional 13,740,000 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Geron in the third quarter valued at $12,364,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Geron by 97.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 11,367,989 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $15,574,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620,635 shares during the period. Eversept Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Geron by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 17,659,983 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $23,311,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Geron in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,403,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Geron Stock Performance

Shares of GERN opened at $1.51 on Monday. Geron Corporation has a 52-week low of $1.04 and a 52-week high of $2.01. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 5.16 and a current ratio of 6.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $970.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.73 and a beta of 0.61.

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

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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