Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 58,456,685 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the January 15th total of 70,452,831 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,596,651 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 9.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 9.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 12,596,651 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Geron Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:GERN traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1.65. 12,626,440 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,242,712. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1.39 and a 200 day moving average of $1.32. Geron has a twelve month low of $1.04 and a twelve month high of $2.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.75 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a current ratio of 5.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GERN. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Geron from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Geron by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,660,969 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,844 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Geron by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,867,322 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,465,000 after buying an additional 248,508 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Geron by 8.0% during the second quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 23,775,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,523,000 after buying an additional 1,769,660 shares during the period. Soleus Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Geron by 572.5% during the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 16,140,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,757,000 after buying an additional 13,740,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Geron by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,956,000 after acquiring an additional 584,444 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.