Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.40.

VSTM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, July 2nd.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of Verastem stock opened at $5.91 on Friday. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.43 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.37. The company has a market cap of $519.34 million, a PE ratio of -2.19 and a beta of 0.26.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 486.40% and a negative net margin of 391.17%.The company had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.88 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,262 shares of company stock valued at $111,897. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Verastem by 182.9% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Verastem by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Verastem by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is 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.