Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN – Get Rating) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.01, RTT News reports. Geron had a negative net margin of 8,563.80% and a negative return on equity of 110.76%. The company had revenue of $0.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.10) EPS.

Geron Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ GERN opened at $2.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $2.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.56. Geron has a 12 month low of $1.02 and a 12 month high of $3.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.36 and a beta of 0.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GERN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Geron to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. B. Riley raised their price target on Geron from $4.00 to $5.00 in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Geron in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Geron in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Geron presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.50.

Insider Activity at Geron

In other Geron news, COO Andrew J. Grethlein sold 384,719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.03, for a total transaction of $1,165,698.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Olivia Kyusuk Bloom sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total transaction of $1,232,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,731.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Andrew J. Grethlein sold 384,719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.03, for a total value of $1,165,698.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,231,385 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,097 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GERN. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in Geron by 269.3% during the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 38,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 27,876 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Geron in the first quarter valued at about $75,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Geron by 87.1% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,953 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 20,925 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Geron by 157.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 24,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Geron by 75.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 23,675 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 10,201 shares during the period. 49.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Geron

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Geron Corp. operates as a biotechnology company. It develops a telomerase inhibitor, Imetelstat, in hematologic myeloid malignancies. The firm develops therapeutic products for oncology. The company was founded by Michael D. West on November 28, 1990 and is headquartered in Foster City, CA.