Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN) by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 11,149 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Geron were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GERN. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Geron by 1,200.0% during 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. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Geron in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Rovin Capital UT ADV bought a new position in shares of Geron during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Geron during the third quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Geron in the third quarter worth about $68,000. 73.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Geron Stock Performance

Shares of GERN opened at $3.35 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.47 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $3.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.31. Geron Co. has a 52 week low of $1.64 and a 52 week high of $5.34.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $28.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.97 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 67.53% and a negative net margin of 682.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17138.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Geron Co. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Geron in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Geron in a report on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Geron in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Geron in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Geron to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.15.

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.