Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VSTM. Mizuho set a $18.00 price target on Verastem in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Verastem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Verastem Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of VSTM opened at $6.30 on Friday. Verastem has a 1-year low of $4.01 and a 1-year high of $11.24. The company has a market capitalization of $420.71 million, a P/E ratio of -1.97 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 3.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.16.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.85 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 5,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total transaction of $36,079.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,719 shares in the company, valued at $749,788.04. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 10,321 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total value of $73,898.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 400,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,864,744.64. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 19,678 shares of company stock valued at $148,825 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $117,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in Verastem by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 131,121 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 82,210 shares during the last quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,651,000. VARCOV Co. bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter valued at about $261,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Verastem

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.