Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Geron Corporation has an average analyst rating of “Hold” from six covering analysts, with an even split of two sell, two hold, and two buy ratings. The consensus 12-month price target is $2.50.
• The stock was trading down 0.4% at $1.39, leaving it below the average analyst target and within a 52-week range of $1.04 to $2.01.
• Geron recently reported quarterly earnings of ($0.01) per share, beating expectations, and revenue of $51.84 million, also ahead of estimates. The company remains focused on its lead drug candidate imetelstat for blood cancers.

Shares of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.50.

GERN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Geron Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ GERN opened at $1.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $888.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.59 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 6.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company's fifty day moving average is $1.59 and its 200-day moving average is $1.43. Geron has a twelve month low of $1.04 and a twelve month high of $2.01.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $51.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.59 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 23.31% and a negative net margin of 35.48%. Equities research analysts predict that Geron will post -0.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Geron by 20.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,519 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 6,713 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Geron by 2.1% in the first 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. lifted its position in shares of Geron by 12.0% in the second 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. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Geron by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Velan Capital Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Geron by 14.3% in the third 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. 73.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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