Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN - Free Report) by 519.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 205,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 172,160 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Geron were worth $932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Geron by 1,200.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Geron in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Geron by 32.7% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,438 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 3,805 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geron in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geron in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geron Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Geron stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,925,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,164,946. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.09 and a 200-day moving average of $4.34. Geron Co. has a twelve month low of $1.64 and a twelve month high of $5.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.44 and a beta of 0.51.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.05. Geron had a negative return on equity of 67.53% and a negative net margin of 682.48%. The firm had revenue of $28.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. Geron's revenue was up 17138.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Geron Co. will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Geron in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upgraded Geron to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Geron in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Geron to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Geron in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.15.

Geron Company Profile

Geron Corporation, a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for myeloid hematologic malignancies. It develops imetelstat, a telomerase inhibitor that is in Phase 3 clinical trials, which inhibits the uncontrolled proliferation of malignant stem and progenitor cells in myeloid hematologic malignancies for the treatment of low or intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes and intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis.