Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.06.

GERN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley lowered Geron from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $3.50 to $2.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Geron in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $4.00 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Geron from $8.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Geron Stock Up 9.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GERN opened at $1.55 on Friday. Geron has a 52-week low of $1.17 and a 52-week high of $5.06. The stock has a market cap of $987.23 million, a P/E ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1.42 and its 200 day moving average is $2.15. The company has a quick ratio of 6.97, a current ratio of 7.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $39.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.88 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 47.86% and a negative net margin of 119.54%. Geron’s revenue was up 12927.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.07) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Geron will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geron

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Geron by 89.1% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 220,935 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 104,075 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Geron by 8.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,372,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 104,840 shares in the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Geron by 106.0% during the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 3,215,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,305 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Geron by 2.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 392,534 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 8,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its position in Geron by 15.1% during the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,130,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,387,000 after purchasing an additional 280,000 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.