Verastem’s (VSTM) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $7.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on Verastem in a report on Monday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verastem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $4.44 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.10 and its 200 day moving average is $3.30. Verastem has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $14.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. The company has a market cap of $197.61 million, a P/E ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 0.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.11. Research analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. FMR LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem in the third quarter worth about $41,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verastem by 104.6% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 10,457 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Verastem by 4,172.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 28,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem, Inc, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its product candidates are Avutometinib, an orally available small molecule RAF/MEK clamp that inhibits the ras sarcoma RAF/MEK, ERK mitogen activated pathway kinase pathway which is involved in cell proliferation, migration, transformation, and survival of tumor cells; and Defactinib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and proline-rich tyrosine kinase for various solid tumors.