Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Stock Price Down 5.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Geron shares fell 5.1% to $1.595 on Monday, with roughly 6.65 million shares traded—about a 61% drop from its average daily volume.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of -$0.05 vs. a consensus of -$0.03 and revenue of $48.02M vs. $50.43M, while showing negative margins and a market cap near $1.01B.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $2.17 (2 Buys, 3 Holds, 2 Sells).

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) shares dropped 5.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $1.59 and last traded at $1.5950. Approximately 6,650,128 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 17,022,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated 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 issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.17.

Geron Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.12 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 4.66 and a quick ratio of 3.62. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.41.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $48.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.43 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 28.86% and a negative net margin of 46.65%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Geron Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. 55 North Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geron during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. LCM Capital Management Inc raised its position in Geron by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Vistica Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Geron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Geron by 3,307.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 25,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 24,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Geron by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 26,371 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 11,182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.71% of the company's stock.

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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