Short Interest in Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) Rises By 6.5%

Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 71,510,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the August 31st total of 67,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Geron Trading Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ:GERN traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $4.41. 7,575,236 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,778,605. The company has a quick ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 3.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.60 and a beta of 0.50. Geron has a twelve month low of $1.64 and a twelve month high of $5.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.16.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The company had revenue of $0.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.34 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 73.79% and a negative net margin of 15,990.68%. Geron’s revenue was up 2941.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Geron will post -0.34 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Geron to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Geron in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Geron in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Geron to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.06.

Insider Transactions at Geron

In other news, COO Andrew J. Grethlein sold 674,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.56, for a total value of $3,075,026.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geron

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Geron by 1,200.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Geron by 870.0% in the 1st quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Geron in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. American Trust purchased a new position in shares of Geron in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Geron by 32.7% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,438 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 3,805 shares in the last quarter. 73.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.