Brokerages Set Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) Price Target at $2.75

Shares of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $2.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Geron from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

Institutional Trading of Geron

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 55 North Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Geron during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Geron by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 22,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Geron by 73.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Geron by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 11,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geron in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 73.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geron Stock Performance

GERN opened at $1.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $983.06 million, a P/E ratio of -12.83 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 4.87, a current ratio of 5.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.30. Geron has a 52-week low of $1.04 and a 52-week high of $3.09.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $55.24 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Geron will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.