Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.88.

Verastem Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $6.88. The company had a trading volume of 703,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,648. Verastem has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $13.52. The company has a market capitalization of $306.21 million, a PE ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.67.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57). On average, equities analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,324.44. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,988 shares of company stock worth $53,608. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,400,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,778,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,918,000. Rosalind Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,653,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,103,000. 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.