Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Earns “Buy” Rating from BTIG Research

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM – Get Free Report)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at BTIG Research in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $18.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 132.26% from the stock’s previous close.

VSTM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Verastem in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Verastem

Verastem Trading Down 3.1%

VSTM stock opened at $7.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $7.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.79. Verastem has a one year low of $3.43 and a one year high of $10.82. The stock has a market cap of $701.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 0.39.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.88 million. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. Equities analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $352,968.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,712 shares in the company, valued at $5,221,696. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,044 shares of company stock valued at $381,484. Insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the first quarter valued at about $10,600,000. Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,876,000. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440,000 shares in the last quarter. NEXTBio Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $10,093,000. Finally, Foresite Capital Management VI LLC increased its holdings in Verastem by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 3,135,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,203,000 after purchasing an additional 520,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Verastem

(Get Free Report)

Verastem Oncology (NASDAQ:VSTM) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancers driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway. The company’s research is aimed at addressing cancers with limited treatment options, including ovarian cancer and other solid tumors.

Verastem’s lead product, avutometinib, is a treatment targeting the RAF/MEK signaling pathway and is marketed in the United States under the brand name Avmapki for certain patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer.

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Analyst Recommendations for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)

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