Wolfe Research Begins Coverage on Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

VSTM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Verastem Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $7.32 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.60. Verastem has a twelve month low of $3.43 and a twelve month high of $10.82. The company has a market capitalization of $662.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Insider Activity at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total value of $87,240.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 591,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,391.56. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 26,262 shares of company stock worth $111,897 in the last ninety days. 1.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the second quarter valued at about $6,876,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Verastem in the second quarter worth $706,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 715.1% in the 1st quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 123,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 108,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Verastem by 31.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 416,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 100,123 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology 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 principal products include avutometinib, a RAF/MEK pathway inhibitor, and defactinib, a focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor. The company has studied these therapies both individually and in combination, with the goal of improving cancer-cell response and overcoming treatment resistance.