Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given New $18.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank Of Canada from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on VSTM. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,038,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,734,603. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.43 and a 52 week high of $10.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $761.61 million, a PE ratio of -4.10 and a beta of 0.45.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.47) by ($0.27). Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. The business had revenue of $24.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.57 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,221,696. This trade represents a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,041 shares of company stock worth $386,390. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in Verastem during the third quarter valued at $89,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $122,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Aries Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 32,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verastem in the first quarter worth about $377,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

More Verastem News

Here are the key news stories impacting Verastem this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its price target from $18 to $20 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling continued confidence in Verastem’s prospects. HC Wainwright rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its target from $19 to $18 but kept its Outperform rating. The reduced target is a modest caution, while the rating remains supportive. RBC rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Dan Paterson sold 1,299 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, a sale equal to about 0.2% of his holdings; he still owned more than 651,000 shares afterward. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Verastem posted an updated corporate presentation on its oncology programs, but the available report did not specify material new developments. Presentation update
• Negative Sentiment: Verastem reported a Q3 loss of $0.74 per share, wider than the roughly $0.47 consensus loss, while revenue of $24.0 million missed estimates of about $26.6 million. The loss narrowed from $1.35 per share a year earlier, but the quarterly misses were the clearest near-term pressure on the stock. Q3 results

About Verastem

Verastem, operating as Verastem Oncology, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancer. The company’s research is centered on tumors driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway, which can promote cancer-cell growth and resistance to treatment.

Verastem’s leading product candidates include avutometinib, an oral RAF/MEK clamp designed to inhibit signaling within the RAS/MAPK pathway, and defactinib, an oral focal adhesion kinase inhibitor.