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Why Is Geron (GERN) Up 10.6% Since Its Last Earnings Report?

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A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Geron Corporation (GERN - Free Report) . Shares have added about 10.6% in that time frame.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is GERN due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Geron Q4 Loss Flat Year Over Year, Revenues Surge

Geron reported a loss of 5 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2017, which was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 4 cents and flat compared with the year-ago period.

Quarterly revenues surged 103% to $0.19 million from the year-ago quarter. Revenues, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1 million. Revenues comprised royalty and license fee revenues received under various non-imetelstat license agreements.

Research and development (R&D) expenses declined 39% to $2.5 million due to lower costs for the proportionate share of clinical development costs for imetelstat.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses rose 14.6% to $5.5 million due to increased stock-based compensation and consulting costs, partially offset by lower legal costs.

The company ended the quarter with $109.2 million in cash and investments compared with $112.7 million at the end of the third quarter.

2017 Results

Revenues for the full year were significantly down to $1.1 million from $6.2 million in the year-ago period. We note that revenues in the year-ago quarter had included a $5 million upfront payment from Janssen related to a licensing agreement.

The company reported a loss of 18 cents for the year, narrower than the year-ago loss of 19 cents.

R&D expenses were down 38.9% to $11 million while G&A expenses were up 2.7% to $19.3 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Analysts were quiet during the last two month period as none of them issued any earnings estimate revisions.

Geron Corporation Price and Consensus

VGM Scores

At this time, GERN has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum is doing a lot better with an A. However, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the lowest quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

The company's stock is suitable solely for momentum based on our styles scores.

Outlook

GERN has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


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