HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 67.06% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Verastem in a report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM opened at $4.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $186.48 million, a P/E ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 0.22. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $14.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.30.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. On average, research analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Verastem in the second quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 4,172.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 28,119 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $82,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,192,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem, Inc, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its product candidates are Avutometinib, an orally available small molecule RAF/MEK clamp that inhibits the ras sarcoma RAF/MEK, ERK mitogen activated pathway kinase pathway which is involved in cell proliferation, migration, transformation, and survival of tumor cells; and Defactinib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and proline-rich tyrosine kinase for various solid tumors.