Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading Down 8.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) traded down 8.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $2.85 and last traded at $2.90. 3,819,957 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 11,759,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on GERN shares. Barclays raised Geron to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Geron from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Geron in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Geron presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.25.

Geron Stock Down 10.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.81 and a 200-day moving average of $4.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.91 and a beta of 0.55.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $28.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.97 million. Geron had a negative net margin of 682.48% and a negative return on equity of 67.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17138.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Geron Co. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in Geron by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 22,209 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Geron by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 115,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,465 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Geron by 13.6% during the third quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 30,674 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,668 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Geron by 23.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 4,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Geron by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,630 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,559 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Geron Company Profile

Geron Corporation, a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for myeloid hematologic malignancies. It develops imetelstat, a telomerase inhibitor that is in Phase 3 clinical trials, which inhibits the uncontrolled proliferation of malignant stem and progenitor cells in myeloid hematologic malignancies for the treatment of low or intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes and intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis.