Algert Global LLC Acquires 133,615 Shares of Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN)

Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 528,686 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 133,615 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in Geron were worth $1,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GERN. Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its position in Geron by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 17,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Geron by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 42,401 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Geron by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 24,414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 7,592 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Geron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Lazari Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Geron by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 76,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Geron Price Performance

NASDAQ:GERN opened at $1.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $805.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.95 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.50 and a 200 day moving average of $2.75. Geron Co. has a 52-week low of $1.17 and a 52-week high of $5.34.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last announced its earnings results 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. Geron had a negative net margin of 682.48% and a negative return on equity of 67.53%. The company had revenue of $39.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12927.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Geron Co. will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GERN shares. B. Riley cut Geron from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $3.50 to $2.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Geron in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank cut shares of Geron from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $4.00 to $1.50 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $4.00 price target (down previously from $9.00) on shares of Geron in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.06.

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.