Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have an average rating of "Hold" on Geron from seven firms (2 sell, 3 hold, 2 buy), with an average 1-year target price of about $2.17.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds have been increasing positions—Geron is 73.71% owned by institutions, with notable stake increases by Candriam and Aberdeen.
• Shares opened at $1.69 with a market cap of $1.08B and a one-year range of $1.04–$2.01; the company missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, though an imetelstat FDA panel approval has recently driven a sharp stock surge.

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.1667.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Geron by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 3,253,960 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,068 shares in the last quarter. Almitas Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Geron in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,296,000. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Geron by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 9,527,083 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,556,160 shares during the period. Forefront Analytics LLC boosted its position in Geron by 48.5% during the third quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 52,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 17,077 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Geron during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 73.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Geron Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GERN opened at $1.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 4.66 and a quick ratio of 3.62. Geron has a one year low of $1.04 and a one year high of $2.01. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.00 and a beta of 0.67.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $48.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.43 million. Geron had a negative net margin of 46.65% and a negative return on equity of 28.86%. Analysts anticipate that Geron will post -0.25 earnings per share 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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