Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Upgraded to “Moderate Buy” at Royal Bank Of Canada

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $12.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $16.00. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 186.60% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verastem has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.38.

Verastem Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:VSTM traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $4.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 481,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,936. Verastem has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $9.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.99. The firm has a market cap of $230.07 million, a PE ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.50 and a current ratio of 3.50.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.24). Equities research analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In other news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $90,592.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 114,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $927,267.15. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 461,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,755,913.66. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 93,796 shares of company stock worth $693,033. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Verastem by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verastem by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,183 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Verastem by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Verastem by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is 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.