We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Hot Stocks To Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) stands against the other hot stocks.
While the market is seeing significant positives after the Fed rate cut, there have been some pressures. For example, dockworkers from the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) have gone on strike at major U.S. ports along the East and Gulf coasts, marking the first such strike in nearly 50 years. The dispute involves a six-year contract covering 25,000 workers, with the ILA demanding significant wage increases and addressing concerns over automation.
While the US Maritime Alliance has offered wage and pension boosts, negotiations have still stalled. The strike could cause major disruptions to imports, especially food, clothing, and car shipments, with potential economic losses of $4 or $5 billion per week.
Moreover, CBS reported that Hurricane Helene is projected to be one of the most expensive storms in U.S. history, with Moody’s Analytics estimating property damage between $15 and $26 billion. AccuWeather forecasts that the overall damage and economic loss could reach up to $110 billion.
Central Banks, Port Strikes, and Inflation Risks: What Lies Ahead
Deepak Puri, Deutsche Bank Private Bank CIO of the Americas, recently joined CNBC’s ‘Money Movers’ as he discussed the current high expectations in the U.S. economy and noted that while inflation and employment are relatively stable, challenges lie ahead due to factors like the port strike, global conflicts, and post-hurricane reconstruction.
He mentioned that Chicago Fed President, Austan Goolsbee has highlighted the difficulty in maintaining the current economic balance. Puri advises patience in the markets due to various uncertainties, including the upcoming election.
Puri explained that while many central banks are lowering interest rates, it is uncertain whether the U.S. economy will avoid a downturn. Inflation remains a risk, and the U.S. port strike could cause serious economic problems if it lasts long, even though it hasn’t yet impacted the market much. He warned that several issues combined could affect inflation and overall economic performance.
When discussing the balance between inflation and jobs, the CIO said that concerns about the job market were bigger until recently, but now inflation is becoming more of a risk. He highlighted how challenging it is for the Fed to manage this situation, especially as consumer spending remains steady but is shifting. Meanwhile, sectors like housing and manufacturing, which are sensitive to interest rates, will need to take up the slack.
Finally, Puri talked about whether the Fed could pause rate cuts like the European Central Bank did. He thinks the Fed will keep lowering rates, but the size of future cuts will depend on upcoming labor market data.
Our Methodology
For this article, we made a list of the top 55 best-performing stocks on a year-to-date basis with a market cap of over $2 billion, as of October 1. We narrowed our list to 10 stocks that were most favored by analysts. The best hot stocks to buy right now are listed in ascending order of the average price target upside. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 900 elite hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? 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).
A close-up of a laboratory technician in a laboratory, measuring a newly developed biopharmaceutical drug.
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26
Year-to-Date Share Price Gains: 106.07%
Average Price Target Upside: 58.73%
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on transforming the treatment of blood cancers. Its flagship product, RYTELO (imetelstat), has been approved in the United States for specific adult patients suffering from lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (LR-MDS) with transfusion-dependent anemia.
The company is running an important Phase 3 clinical trial for imetelstat in patients with myelofibrosis who have either relapsed or did not respond to JAK inhibitors. It is also exploring the drug’s potential to treat other types of blood cancers. Imetelstat works by blocking telomerase activity, which is usually higher in harmful stem and progenitor cells. The action aims to slow down their growth and help kill these cancerous cells.
Doctors and patients are excited about Rytelo’s ability to help those with lower-risk MDS, especially patients who need blood transfusions. It can be accessed within 24-48 hours in most states
In addition, Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) has requested a patent extension until August 2037 and is working on expanding its availability, including submitting a marketing application in the EU.
On September 9, The Fly reported that Analyst Faisal Khurshid from Leerink started coverage on the company stock with an Outperform rating and a $7 price target. According to the analyst, it is a Top Pick in the Emerging Immunology sector.
Leerink is optimistic about Geron’s (NASDAQ:GERN) future, especially for the year 2025, as it believes Rytelo could become a top-selling treatment for LR-MDS. The firm expects to see this reflected in the company’s quarterly revenue starting in 2025.
Overall GERN ranks 4th on our list of the hot stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of GERN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. 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.