Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Shares Down 6% – What’s Next?

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN)’s share price dropped 6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $1.82 and last traded at $1.8050. Approximately 1,252,326 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 13,063,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GERN has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Geron from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Geron Stock Down 2.1%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1.44 and its 200-day moving average is $1.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -15.67 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GERN. Soleus Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Geron by 572.5% in the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 16,140,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,757,000 after purchasing an additional 13,740,000 shares during the period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geron in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,364,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Geron by 97.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 11,367,989 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $15,574,000 after buying an additional 5,620,635 shares during the period. Eversept Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Geron by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 17,659,983 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,311,000 after buying an additional 5,060,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Geron by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 9,527,083 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,576,000 after buying an additional 3,556,160 shares during the period. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geron Company Profile

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.