Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.63.

Several research firms have weighed in on VSTM. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $90,592.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 114,055 shares in the company, valued at $927,267.15. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 461,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,913.66. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,168 shares of company stock worth $577,292 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Verastem by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 6,016 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Verastem by 152.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 22,071 shares during the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Verastem by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Verastem by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 10,352 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Verastem by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 88,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 9,503 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Stock Down 4.8%

Verastem stock opened at $6.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $335.74 million, a PE ratio of -1.92 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.98. Verastem has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $9.10.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.24). On average, research analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.