Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.38.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VSTM. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Verastem Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $5.82 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.05 million, a P/E ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $14.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $44,896.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,321 shares of company stock worth $52,217. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VSTM. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 4,172.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 28,119 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the second quarter worth $1,192,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verastem by 104.6% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 10,457 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verastem by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 103,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 32,791 shares in the last quarter. 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.