Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading 4.4% Higher - Here's Why

Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $3.57 and last traded at $3.55. Approximately 4,794,582 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 10,397,970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on GERN. Barclays upgraded shares of Geron to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Geron in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Geron in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Geron in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Geron presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.15.

Geron Trading Up 4.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $3.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.06 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Geron in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Rovin Capital UT ADV purchased a new position in Geron during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Geron during the third quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Geron during the third quarter worth about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.71% of the company's stock.

About Geron

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.