Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Shares Down 8.6% – Should You Sell?

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTMGet Free Report)’s share price traded down 8.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $6.66 and last traded at $6.67. 1,206,082 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 2,239,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSTM has been the topic of several research reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Mizuho set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verastem presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

View Our Latest Report on VSTM

Verastem Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $623.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.42.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTMGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%.The company had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total value of $87,240.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 591,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,391.56. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,262 shares of company stock worth $111,897. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Verastem by 182.9% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Verastem by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

(Get Free Report)

Verastem Oncology, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies that target cancer stemness and resistance pathways. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Verastem Oncology applies a precision-medicine approach to identify key signaling nodes responsible for tumor growth and relapse, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s research platform integrates insights into complex signaling networks to advance novel compounds from early discovery through clinical proof of concept.

The company’s lead marketed product is COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which received U.S.

Further Reading

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