Analysts Set Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) PT at $14.29

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.2857.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $15.00 price target on Verastem in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $13.00 target price on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research raised Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $9.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $581.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.10 and its 200 day moving average is $7.31. Verastem has a twelve month low of $3.45 and a twelve month high of $11.24. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.01 million. Research analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $75,496.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,496.98. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 11,005 shares of company stock valued at $96,552 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Verastem in the first quarter worth $1,631,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 3.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 61.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,079 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 14,941 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 153.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 37,184 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 22,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the first quarter valued at $305,000. 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.