Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. B. Riley upgraded Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.29.

Verastem Price Performance

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $9.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $619.05 million, a PE ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 0.89. Verastem has a 12-month low of $3.45 and a 12-month high of $11.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.45.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $11.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.76 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total transaction of $75,496.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,496.98. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 3,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.74, for a total value of $32,132.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 438,818 shares in the company, valued at $4,274,087.32. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,972 shares of company stock valued at $120,945. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VSTM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Verastem by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,720,000 after purchasing an additional 55,394 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL increased its holdings in Verastem by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 3,404,425 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,128,000 after buying an additional 1,303,957 shares during the period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verastem by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,735 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,262,000 after buying an additional 656,194 shares in the last quarter. Vivo Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vivo Capital LLC now owns 2,644,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,524 shares during the period. Finally, Foresite Capital Management VI LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 104.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 2,615,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338,600 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.