Why Geron Shares Doubled

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of biotechnology company Geron gained as much as 116% this morning after its experimental bone marrow disorder drug helped patients in a study.

So what: In the 18-patient Mayo Clinic study of Geron's imetelstat, 44% experienced clinical improvement, partial remission, or complete remission, triggering plenty of optimism over the drug's blockbuster potential. To be sure, The Street's biotech expert Adam Feuerstein noted that only bone marrow and blood responses were reported -- no clinical or symptomatic responses -- suggesting that Mr. Market might be overreacting to the data.

Now what: Geron will post updated results next month at the American Society of Hematology meeting in New Orleans.

"The current study signifies the potential value of telomerase-based treatment strategies in MF and identifies imetelstat as an active drug in that regard," the study's abstract reads. "The association between response and spliceosome mutations suggests a broader application for the drug in myeloid malignancies."

For lucky Geron shareholders waking up to today's whopping gain, however, taking some dough off the table seems prudent given the seemingly reasonable skepticism surrounding the initial abstract.

Don't miss out on big gains
The market stormed out to huge gains across 2013, leaving investors on the sidelines burned. However, opportunistic investors can still find huge winners. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has hand-picked one such opportunity in our new report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." To find out which stock it is and read our in-depth report, simply click here. It's free!

The article Why Geron Shares Doubled originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.