Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Trading Up 9.4% – Time to Buy?

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) was up 9.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $8.36 and last traded at $8.2570. Approximately 400,644 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,939,913 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VSTM. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. B. Riley upgraded Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.29.

Verastem Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $635.21 million, a P/E ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.44.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $11.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.76 million. On average, analysts expect that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 3,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.74, for a total transaction of $32,132.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 438,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,087.32. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $75,496.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,496.98. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,972 shares of company stock valued at $120,945 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Verastem by 9.8% in the second 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 last quarter. Aries Wealth Management boosted its stake in Verastem by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,249 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Verastem by 182.9% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Verastem by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 4,183 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Verastem by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 4,496 shares during the period. 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.