Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

VSTM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verastem has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.88.

Verastem Price Performance

Verastem stock opened at $6.57 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. Verastem has a 1 year low of $2.10 and a 1 year high of $13.52. The company has a market capitalization of $292.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,324.44. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 9,960 shares of company stock valued at $53,498 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Verastem by 46.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 103,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 32,791 shares during the period. FMR LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the third quarter valued at $3,918,000. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in Verastem by 493.7% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 179,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Verastem by 62.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 11,642 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

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.