Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Stock Price Down 6.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) traded down 6.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $1.33 and last traded at $1.3350. 5,482,373 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 9,167,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Geron Trading Down 8.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 5.96 and a quick ratio of 4.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.30. The company has a market cap of $836.24 million, a PE ratio of -10.92 and a beta of 0.59.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03). Geron had a negative net margin of 43.61% and a negative return on equity of 29.63%. The company had revenue of $47.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.24 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Geron Corporation will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Geron during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Geron by 73.6% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 26,371 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 11,182 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Geron by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 11,074 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Geron during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Summit Financial Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Geron during the second quarter worth $38,000. 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.