Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

VSTM has been the subject of a number of other reports. BTIG Research increased their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.88.

Verastem Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $6.40 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.72. Verastem has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $13.52. The stock has a market cap of $284.84 million, a PE ratio of -2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57). As a group, analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,324.44. This trade represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 9,960 shares of company stock worth $53,498 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Verastem by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the third quarter worth about $41,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 55.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 6,016 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

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.