Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Trading Down 4%

Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) dropped 4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $4.53 and last traded at $4.57. Approximately 3,095,908 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 11,421,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Geron from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Geron in a research note on Monday, April 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Geron in a report on Friday, June 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Geron from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Geron from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Geron currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.93.

Geron Trading Down 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 3.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.60 and a beta of 0.48.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $0.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.15 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 68.16% and a negative net margin of 38,730.00%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Geron Co. will post -0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Geron

In other news, CEO John A. Scarlett sold 600,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total transaction of $2,400,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 600,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Geron news, COO Andrew J. Grethlein sold 674,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.56, for a total value of $3,075,026.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John A. Scarlett sold 600,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total value of $2,400,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 600,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,562,248 shares of company stock worth $6,808,004 over the last three months. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Geron

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Geron by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Vishria Bird Financial Group LLC now owns 24,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 3,650 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Geron by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 132,053 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 5,079 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Geron by 12.3% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 64,438 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 7,034 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Geron by 870.0% during the first quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geron during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.