Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) Downgraded by B. Riley to Neutral

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) was downgraded by stock analysts at B. Riley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $2.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $3.50. B. Riley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.22% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on GERN. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Geron in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Geron from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered Geron from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.77.

Geron Price Performance

Shares of GERN opened at $1.61 on Thursday. Geron has a 1-year low of $1.46 and a 1-year high of $5.34. The company has a market cap of $973.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.03 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $47.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.29 million. Geron had a negative return on equity of 67.53% and a negative net margin of 682.48%. On average, research analysts forecast that Geron will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Geron

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Geron during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geron in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Geron in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Geron in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV acquired a new stake in Geron in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.71% of the company’s stock.

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.