Analyst Update: Celgene Corporation, Geron Corporation, and NeoPhotonics Corp

Analysts are weighing in on biotech stocks Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG), and Geron Corporation (NASDAQ:GERN), as well as optical communications specialist NeoPhotonics Corp (NYSE:NPTN). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on CELG, GERN, and NPTN.

• CELG is just one of many biotechs on the move, currently sitting up 1.9% at $106.49, after announcing promising data on its Crohn's treatment. While Baird maintained an "outperform" endorsement and $162 price target, the analyst said CELG's "big 2H16 catalyst turned out to be a non-event," and wondered why there wasn't more data delivered. The biotech is down 11.1% so far this year, and recently filled in its late-July bull gap, but seems to have found a foothold atop its 160-day moving average. The security's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) of 0.58 sits in the 75th percentile of its annual range, suggesting CELG put buying has been more active than usual.
  
  
• GERN is the worst performer on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), currently down 19.9% at $2.29 -- and just off its lowest point since October 2014. Partner Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) drug-testing arm, Janssen, announced that it won't continue trials of a low dosage of GERN's blood cancer treatment, imetalstat, although Janssen will continue to pursue trials of higher dosages. The biotech was hit with a pair of price-target cuts by Piper Jaffray and Janney -- both to $5, from $10 and $6.50, respectively. Today's plunge puts the stock down over 52% since the beginning of 2016. Option bears and short sellers alike are probably cheering today's fall; GERN's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 3.04 sits just 2 percentage away from an annual high, and a lofty 17.8% of GERN's float is sold short, which would take over four weeks of trading to cover, at GERN's average daily volume. Today, however, GERN is on the short-sale restricted list.
  
  
• NPTN is up 6.7% at $17.63 -- earlier touching a new five-year high of $18 -- after Needham raised its price target to $22 from $20, citing a strong potential upside for the stock based on China purchase orders. The optical communications specialist has more than doubled since June, drawing support from its 10- and 20-day moving averages. As such, option bulls have been hot on the stock, with 27.34 calls bought to open for every put over the last 10 days at the ISE/CBOE/PHLX.