Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $13.00 to $16.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 153.57% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on VSTM. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim began coverage on Verastem in a report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verastem has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.38.

Verastem Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of VSTM traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.31. The company had a trading volume of 542,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,602,768. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.40. Verastem has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $14.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The company has a market capitalization of $280.84 million, a PE ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 0.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verastem during the 3rd quarter worth $3,918,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verastem by 67.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 359,060 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 18.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 424,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 65,265 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth about $1,192,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 493.7% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 179,725 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.