Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives $13.38 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.63.

VSTM has been the subject of several research reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BTIG Research increased their target price 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. B. Riley raised their target price on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Verastem Stock Up 2.8 %

Verastem stock opened at $5.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.79. The stock has a market cap of $261.27 million, a PE ratio of -1.84 and a beta of 0.28. Verastem has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $14.22.

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

Insider Activity

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 value of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,324.44. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,509 shares of company stock valued at $49,099. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aries Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Verastem by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 55.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 88,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 9,503 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 10,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verastem by 104.6% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 10,457 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Verastem

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.