Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as Buy by BTIG Research

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at BTIG Research in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $18.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 132.26% from the company’s previous close.

VSTM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Verastem Stock Performance

VSTM traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $7.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,511,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,510. 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 has a market cap of $701.84 million, a PE ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 0.39. Verastem has a 12-month low of $3.43 and a 12-month high of $10.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.78.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.88 million. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verastem will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,221,696. This trade represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,044 shares of company stock valued at $381,484. 1.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $117,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the 1st quarter valued at $210,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the 1st quarter valued at $377,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the 1st quarter valued at $394,000. Finally, Knott David M Jr purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the 1st quarter valued at $551,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verastem Company Profile

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.