Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Shares Up 7.1% – Here’s Why

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) shares rose 7.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1.5860 and last traded at $1.5850. 2,632,925 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 14,334,827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Geron Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $970.13 million, a P/E ratio of -13.73 and a beta of 0.61. 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’s 50-day moving average is $1.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.47.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $57.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.30 million. Geron had a negative net margin of 34.17% and a negative return on equity of 24.48%. Analysts anticipate that Geron Corporation will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Geron in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. GTS Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Geron by 71.6% in the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 23,772 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 9,921 shares during the period. Vistica Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Geron in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Geron by 3,307.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 25,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 24,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Geron during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.