Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $1.30 and traded as high as $1.41. Geron shares last traded at $1.4050, with a volume of 11,474,263 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GERN. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Friday, October 31st. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Geron from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Geron currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Geron Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.30. The company has a current ratio of 5.96, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $880.92 million, a PE ratio of -11.50 and a beta of 0.59.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.03). The business had revenue of $47.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.24 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 29.63% and a negative net margin of 43.61%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Geron Corporation will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GERN. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake 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 period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Geron by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 11,074 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Geron during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Geron during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Geron in the third quarter worth $45,000. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Geron

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.