Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.1667.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GERN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GERN. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Geron by 5,092.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 38,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 37,581 shares in the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Geron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,027,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Geron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Geron by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,225,658 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 265,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Geron by 104.4% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 91,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 46,801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.71% of the company’s stock.

Geron Stock Down 1.9%

GERN stock opened at $1.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.37. Geron has a 52 week low of $1.04 and a 52 week high of $2.01. The company has a market cap of $986.43 million, a P/E ratio of -11.85 and a beta of 0.58.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $48.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.43 million. Geron had a negative net margin of 46.65% and a negative return on equity of 28.86%. On average, research analysts expect that Geron will post -0.25 earnings per share 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.