Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) Short Interest Up 21.3% in March

Key Points

• Short interest surged 21.3% in March to 76.67 million shares (about 12.9% of the float), with a days-to-cover ratio of 4.2, signaling increased bearish positioning in GERN.
• Institutional ownership is high at 73.71%, and several large investors (e.g., Mirae Asset, E Fund, LCM, Velan, Swiss Life) modestly increased their stakes during recent quarters.
• Fundamentals and analyst view are mixed: GERN has a $1.08 billion market cap, opened at $1.69 with a 52-week range of $1.04–$2.01, reported an EPS miss last quarter (‑$0.05), and carries a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” with a $2.17 target price.

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 76,666,335 shares, an increase of 21.3% from the March 15th total of 63,223,778 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,369,873 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 12.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings 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 valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 8,123 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 9,849 shares in the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Geron by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP boosted its position in Geron by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP now owns 80,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Geron by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 26,371 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 11,182 shares during the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GERN has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Geron in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.17.

Geron Price Performance

Shares of GERN stock opened at $1.69 on Friday. Geron has a 52 week low of $1.04 and a 52 week high of $2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -13.00 and a beta of 0.67. 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's fifty day moving average is $1.64 and its 200-day moving average is $1.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.02). Geron had a negative net margin of 46.65% and a negative return on equity of 28.86%. The business had revenue of $48.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.43 million. Equities research analysts expect that Geron will post -0.25 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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