Swiss National Bank Has $1.99 Million Stake in Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN)

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Geron Co. (NASDAQ:GERN – Get Rating) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 821,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 22,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.22% of Geron worth $1,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Geron by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 95,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Geron by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 151,212 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 19,134 shares during the last quarter. Parsec Financial Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Geron in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Geron by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 78,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Geron by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,959 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 19,461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.75% of the company’s stock.

Geron Stock Down 0.3 %

GERN stock opened at $3.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 8.81, a quick ratio of 8.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $2.50 and its 200 day moving average is $2.59. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.21 and a beta of 0.92. Geron Co. has a 1-year low of $1.18 and a 1-year high of $3.84.

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $0.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.14 million. Geron had a negative net margin of 30,349.19% and a negative return on equity of 91.38%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.09) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Geron Co. will post -0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Geron in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Geron in a research note on Friday, April 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Geron in a research note on Friday, March 17th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Geron in a research note on Monday, March 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $3.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Geron presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan Molineaux sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.48, for a total value of $86,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Geron Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.