Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Stock Price Up 8.8% – Still a Buy?

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) shares rose 8.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $1.91 and last traded at $1.9250. Approximately 1,746,966 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 13,780,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GERN shares. HC Wainwright 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Geron from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.75.

Geron Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -16.13 and a beta of 0.62. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.34.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Geron by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 63,771,366 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,178,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Geron by 3.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Geron by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,867,322 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,465,000 after purchasing an additional 248,508 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP increased its holdings in Geron by 8.0% in the second quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 23,775,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,523,000 after buying an additional 1,769,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eversept Partners LP raised its stake in Geron by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 17,659,983 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,311,000 after buying an additional 5,060,981 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is 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.