Why Geron's Shares Rose 14.78% on Wednesday
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN), a late-stage biotech company, saw its shares rise as much as 15.2% on Wednesday, though it closed the day 14.78% higher. The stock, which closed at $2.30 on Tuesday, rose to a high of $2.65 on Wednesday and closed at $2.64, just a little under its 52-week high of $2.67. The stock is up more than 115% so far this year.
Geron has been riding high all year, so this move was just a continuation of that. The upward pressure on the stock may also have forced some with short positions to scramble to cover those positions. The company's lead candidate, imetelstat, is being looked at as a cell therapy to treat various blood disorders. It is in two Phase 3 clinical trials: the first to treat patients with low or intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of disorders where blood cells are not formed properly in the bone marrow; and the other to treat patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis, a rare type of bone marrow cancer.
The top-line results of the first study are expected early next year, meaning the company could present its New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sometime next year and if all goes well, it could go to market by 2024. The interim analysis for the second trial is expected in 2024.
Source Fool.com
