Verastem’s (VSTM) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at BTIG Research in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $18.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 114.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Verastem in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $8.38. 2,969,417 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,260,114. The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $758.89 million, a P/E ratio of -3.15 and a beta of 0.39. Verastem has a 1 year low of $3.43 and a 1 year high of $10.82.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%.The company had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $352,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,221,696. This trade represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 48,044 shares of company stock valued at $381,484 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440,000 shares during the period. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC lifted its holdings in Verastem by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 3,135,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,203,000 after buying an additional 520,000 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,600,000. NEXTBio Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,093,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,876,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology (NASDAQ:VSTM) 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 lead product, avutometinib, is a treatment targeting the RAF/MEK signaling pathway and is marketed in the United States under the brand name Avmapki for certain patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer.