Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Price Target Raised to $14.00 at Guggenheim

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Guggenheim from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 113.09% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on VSTM. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.88.

Verastem Trading Down 4.5 %

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $6.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.41 million, a PE ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $6.08 and its 200 day moving average is $4.70. Verastem has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $13.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57). Research analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,960 shares of company stock valued at $53,498. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,400,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 3,752,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,401,000 after buying an additional 19,250 shares during the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,778,000. BVF Inc. IL increased its holdings in Verastem by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,100,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,859,000 after buying an additional 415,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonepine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the third quarter worth approximately $3,918,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.