Geron shares rise on Merriman analyst upgrade

Geron shares rise on upgraded from Merriman Curhan Ford analyst, outlook for cancer program

• On 11:18 am EDT, Monday October 19, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Geron Corp., which develops drugs using stem cells, rose Monday after a Merriman Curhan Ford analyst upgraded the stock, citing the company's potential in producing new cancer therapies.

Analyst Joe Pantginis upgraded shares to "Buy" from "Neutral", highlighting the company's vaccine approach to treating cancer. He also boosted his price target range to between $9 and $10 apiece, from a prior outlook of $5 to $5.50 apiece.

The stock rose 45 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $6.95 in morning trading. Shares have traded between $2.48 and $9.24 over the last 52 weeks.

Pantginis said the company's lead product candidate, GRN163L, represents a promising new cancer treatment.

"Geron also is poised to be a key leader in the embryonic stem cell arena," he said, in a note to investors. "While volatility is still expected from the stem cell platform at Geron, we believe the increased visibility and data flow from the telomerase (cancer) program should drive the stock going forward."

Embryonic stem cells are unspecialized cells capable of turning into a wide variety of other cells. They are collected by cloning embryos in a laboratory, but the embryo is destroyed in the process.

In his note Monday, Pantginis said he is upgrading the stock because he expects a "strong end" to 2009 for the company

"We expect the primary impetus to this anticipated strength to be data and visibility from the company's oncology program for telomerase," he said.

Menlo Park, Calif.-based Geron has been developing stem cell-based therapies for about a decade. In January, it became the first company to receive Food and Drug Administration approval to conduct early stage clinical trials on a stem-cell based therapy, aimed at treating severe spinal cord injuries. In August the company said a human clinical trial of that embryonic stem cell product, called GRNOPC1, would be delayed because some of the animals treated with the injection developed microscopic spinal cysts.

"While investor focus on Geron has been on the embryonic stem cell program, specifically the spinal cord injury Phase I study, we see focus shifting back to the telomerase oncology program," Pantginis said.

Buzz up!