Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VSTM. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $13.00 target price on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $15.00 target price on Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verastem currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $14.29.

Verastem Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.07. 1,419,595 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,880,347. The company has a market cap of $538.91 million, a PE ratio of -2.00 and a beta of 0.89. Verastem has a one year low of $3.45 and a one year high of $11.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 3.44 and a current ratio of 2.58.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $11.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.76 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 3,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.74, for a total transaction of $32,132.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 438,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,087.32. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 8,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,496.98. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,972 shares of company stock worth $120,945 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the second quarter worth $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Verastem by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at about $106,000. 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.