Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.83.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verastem in the first quarter valued at about $10,600,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verastem during the second quarter worth about $706,000. Exome Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verastem by 58.5% in the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after buying an additional 234,957 shares during the period. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the second quarter valued at about $6,876,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Stock Down 0.8%

VSTM opened at $7.74 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $700.93 million, a PE ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 0.32. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.43 and a 52 week high of $10.82.

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

Verastem Company Profile

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.