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

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.63.

VSTM has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Verastem Stock Performance

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $5.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $5.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.06. Verastem has a 1 year low of $2.10 and a 1 year high of $13.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.80 million, a P/E ratio of -1.78 and a beta of 0.28.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,324.44. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,367 shares of company stock worth $53,990. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Walleye Capital LLC grew its stake in Verastem by 493.7% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 179,725 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verastem by 67.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after buying an additional 359,060 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Verastem by 546.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 47,094 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Verastem during the third quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the third quarter worth about $43,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.