Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives $15.60 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.60.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Verastem from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $19.00) on shares of Verastem in a research report on Monday, March 30th.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of VSTM opened at $4.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 3.04 and a quick ratio of 3.00. Verastem has a 1 year low of $4.00 and a 1 year high of $11.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.79. The firm has a market cap of $372.57 million, a P/E ratio of -1.57 and a beta of 0.34.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.85 million. Verastem had a negative net margin of 391.17% and a negative return on equity of 486.40%. On average, equities analysts expect that Verastem will post -1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,576,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150,000 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 270.7% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 3,925,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,866,350 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in Verastem by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,298,000 after buying an additional 1,440,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Verastem by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,720,000 after buying an additional 55,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Verastem by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,219,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,853,000 after buying an additional 990,655 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies that target cancer stemness and resistance pathways. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Verastem Oncology applies a precision-medicine approach to identify key signaling nodes responsible for tumor growth and relapse, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s research platform integrates insights into complex signaling networks to advance novel compounds from early discovery through clinical proof of concept.

The company’s lead marketed product is COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which received U.S.