We recently published a list of 11 Best NASDAQ Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to look at where Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) stands against other best NASDAQ penny stocks to buy right now.
The NASDAQ Stock Market is home to some of the world’s largest companies in the world and also hosts several hundred penny stocks. These companies must meet certain requirements to remain listed on the NASDAQ exchange, including the $1 per share minimum share price thresholds, revenue standards, and market capitalization thresholds. If a company fails to meet these requirements, it may receive noncompliance notifications and eventually be delisted. According to a report by Bloomberg, this year’s market rally has boosted many of the struggling stocks, helping some companies regain compliance with NASDAQ’s listing requirements.
Optimism in U.S. Markets
On December 3, Bloomberg reported that Fed Governor Christopher Waller, while addressing a conference in Washington, indicated that he is inclined to vote for a rate cut at the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on December 17-18. However, Waller emphasized that his decision will depend on the economic data released before the meeting, particularly if it shows an unexpected uptick in inflation.
According to Bloomberg, New York Fed President John Williams in a speech in New York said that the economy is continuing to look strong and inflation is likely moving down toward the Fed’s target. However, he emphasized that the path for monetary policy will be contingent upon incoming economic data. He underscored the uncertainty of the economic outlook, noting, “If we’ve learned anything over the past five years, it’s that the outlook remains highly uncertain.”
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In an interview with CNBC on November 15, Nicholas Colas, Co-founder of DataTrek Research, discussed his views on the US stocks and the potential of small caps. Colas recalled how U.S. stocks outperformed global markets during the first Trump administration. Colas acknowledged that current multiples are high, but he is optimistic and believes that multiples can hold or even rise, given the high level of confidence in the US market. Regarding small caps, Colas suggested that they are a great trade for the year-end. The Russell 2000, which tracks small-cap performance, has been flat and lagged significantly behind the S&P 500 over the past three years, and presents an amazing opportunity, given that it typically sees a 20% increase. This underperformance makes small caps reasonable holds for the longer term, as they are due for a rebound.
While the broader market is showing signs of overvaluation, small-cap, and penny stocks have lagged significantly behind over the past few years, creating a compelling opportunity for investors.
A scientist holding a vial of the cancer-fighting drug developed by the biotechnology company.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 11 best NASDAQ penny stocks to buy right now, we used Finviz and Yahoo stock screeners to find the 25 largest companies trading below the price of $5 as of December 4. We then used Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund database to rank 11 stocks according to the largest number of hedge fund holders, as of Q3 2024. The list is sorted in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
Stock Price as of December 4: $3.95
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) is a biopharmaceutical company that has made a strong start to its commercial journey with its flagship product, imetelstat, a disease-modifying treatment for lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (LR-MDS), an abnormal blood cell production disorder in the bone marrow. Geron Corporation’s (NASDAQ:GERN) primary revenue stream comes from the sales of imetelstat, which affects approximately 25,000 patients in the United States. The company’s clients are primarily hematologists and oncologists who treat patients with LR-MDS, a market that is expected to grow significantly as the product gains traction.
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) is focused on expanding its commercial reach, both in the United States and internationally. The company has secured favorable funding deals with Royalty Pharma and Pharmakon Advisors, which provided $375 million in non-dilutive financing to support commercialization efforts. The company plans to use these funds to invest in sales and marketing initiatives, expand its commercial team, and build out its distribution network. Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) is also pursuing additional indications for imetelstat, including a marketing authorization application (MAA) review in the European Union for lower-risk MDS, which could lead to approval in early 2025.
In addition to its commercial efforts, Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) is advancing its pipeline with several ongoing clinical trials, including a Phase 3 study in relapsed/refractory myelofibrosis (MF) patients, a condition with no curative treatments. The company expects interim data from this study in early 2026, with topline results anticipated in early 2027.
Overall, GERN ranks 4th on our list of best NASDAQ penny stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of GERN to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GERN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.