Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on VSTM. Mizuho set a $15.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. B. Riley raised Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $13.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verastem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.29.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of Verastem stock opened at $9.27 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.45. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $3.45 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The firm has a market cap of $619.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In other news, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total transaction of $75,496.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,496.98. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 3,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.74, for a total value of $32,132.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 438,818 shares in the company, valued at $4,274,087.32. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,972 shares of company stock valued at $120,945. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Verastem by 182.9% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Verastem by 110.9% in 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 in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake 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 worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

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.