Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Stock Price Down 2.5% - Here's Why

Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) was down 2.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $3.57 and last traded at $3.57. Approximately 2,547,510 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 10,115,950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GERN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Geron in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Geron in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upgraded Geron to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Geron to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.15.

Geron Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.91 and a beta of 0.51. The business's 50-day moving average is $4.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geron

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GERN. RTW Investments LP bought a new position in Geron during the third quarter valued at about $200,268,000. Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Geron in the second quarter valued at about $106,185,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Geron during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,498,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Geron by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,565,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $102,193,000 after acquiring an additional 13,163,889 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Geron by 124.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 16,837,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $71,389,000 after purchasing an additional 9,342,000 shares during the period. 73.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.