Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Stock Price Down 8.5% – Time to Sell?

Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) shares traded down 8.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $2.85 and last traded at $2.90. 3,819,957 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 11,759,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GERN has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upgraded Geron to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Geron in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Geron from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Geron in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Geron has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.25.

Geron Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $3.76 and its 200-day moving average is $4.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.19 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.74.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $28.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. Geron’s revenue for the quarter was up 17138.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Geron Co. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geron

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. increased its position in Geron by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 22,209 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Geron by 3.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 115,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 3,465 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV raised its stake in shares of Geron by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 17,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Geron by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 30,674 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Geron by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 4,094 shares during the period. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.