Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Shares Down 5.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) were down 5.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $1.59 and last traded at $1.5950. Approximately 6,650,128 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 17,022,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GERN. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Geron presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.17.

Geron Stock Up 3.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $990.19 million, a PE ratio of -11.88 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1.64 and its 200 day moving average is $1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a current ratio of 4.66.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $48.02 million for 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Geron Corporation will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 55 North Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geron in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Geron by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Vistica Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Geron during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Geron by 3,307.6% during the 4th 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, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised 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 purchasing an additional 11,182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.71% of the company’s stock.

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.