ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Strategy” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The stock market performance in the first quarter of 2025 was volatile, following the initial “animal spirits” post-election rally. The strategy surpassed its benchmark with the support of new ideas, reorienting efforts, and tailwinds in several industries despite volatility and uncertainty. Given the pace of major policy changes, the firm expects ongoing volatility as the effects of tariffs and policymaking have clouded visibility. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its first quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Strategy emphasized stocks such as Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN). Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company. The one-month return of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) was -11.88%, and its shares lost 58.89% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On April 7, 2025, Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) stock closed at $1.41 per share with a market capitalization of $898.035 million.
ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“We continued to generate a number of compelling new ideas, adding five new investments that we still held at quarter end: Glaukos, Rocket Lab USA, Karman Holdings (through its IPO), Archrock, Hims & Hers and Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN).
Geron is a biotechnology company with a commercialized drug launching to treat blood cancer. Its product is newly entering a sizable market with broad applicability for patients who cycle through a variety of treatments throughout the course of the disease, allowing for a potentially larger revenue opportunity than currently appreciated by the market.”
A close-up of a laboratory technician in a laboratory, measuring a newly developed biopharmaceutical drug.
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 46 hedge fund portfolios held Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 29 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: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 as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
We covered Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN) in another article, where we shared the list of top penny stocks that will skyrocket. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.