Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on VSTM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $7.44 on Friday. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.43 and a 52 week high of $10.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $673.77 million, a PE ratio of -2.80 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.79 and its 200-day moving average is $5.62.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.88 million. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. Equities research analysts expect that Verastem will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 1st quarter worth $210,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 1st quarter worth $377,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 1st quarter worth $394,000. Finally, Knott David M Jr bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 1st quarter valued at $551,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancers driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway. The company’s research is aimed at addressing cancers with limited treatment options, including ovarian cancer and other solid tumors.

Verastem’s principal products include avutometinib, a RAF/MEK pathway inhibitor, and defactinib, a focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor. The company has studied these therapies both individually and in combination, with the goal of improving cancer-cell response and overcoming treatment resistance.