Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading Up 7.1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Geron shares rose 7.1% to about $1.585 during mid-day trading, although volume was 82% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and a $4.00 price target; ratings include two Buys, two Holds, and one Sell.
• Geron reported quarterly revenue of $57.48 million, exceeding estimates, but missed EPS expectations and remains unprofitable. Institutional investors own 73.71% of the stock, with several hedge funds recently increasing their positions.

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) shares traded up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $1.5860 and last traded at $1.5850. 2,632,925 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 14,334,827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Geron from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.00.

Geron Trading Up 7.8%

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 6.91 and a quick ratio of 5.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.52 and a beta of 0.60.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $57.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.30 million. Geron had a negative net margin of 34.17% and a negative return on equity of 24.48%. Equities research analysts expect that Geron Corporation will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GERN. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Geron during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,648,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in Geron in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,982,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Geron by 144.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,799,521 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062,355 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Geron by 826.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,218,196 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,304,000 after buying an additional 1,978,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Geron by 68.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,556,278 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,789,000 after buying an additional 1,858,268 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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