Intech Investment Management LLC Invests $1.10 Million in Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 242,819 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,102,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Turn Management LLC purchased a new position in Geron in the third quarter worth $14,187,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Geron during the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Geron during the third quarter valued at about $178,000. Rovin Capital UT ADV purchased a new stake in Geron during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Geron by 68.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 7,429 shares during the period. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geron Stock Performance

NASDAQ GERN traded up $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $4.17. 6,472,425 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,377,381. Geron Co. has a one year low of $1.64 and a one year high of $5.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -13.03 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $4.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $28.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17138.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Geron Co. will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GERN shares. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Geron in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Geron to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Geron in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Geron currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.05.

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.