Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives $13.38 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.63.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Verastem from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Verastem Stock Down 2.3 %

Verastem stock opened at $6.08 on Wednesday. Verastem has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $14.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.75. The company has a market capitalization of $270.62 million, a P/E ratio of -1.91 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.11. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,321 shares of company stock valued at $52,217. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 10,352 shares during the period. Aries Wealth Management lifted its position in Verastem by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Verastem by 152.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 22,071 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Verastem by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Verastem by 546.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 47,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.