Brokerages Set Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Target Price at $14.29

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.2857.

VSTM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Verastem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, B. Riley raised Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM opened at $10.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $8.89 and its 200-day moving average is $7.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The company has a market capitalization of $709.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 0.89. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $3.45 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $11.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.76 million. Equities research analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Kauffman sold 8,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $85,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,660. This represents a 49.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $62,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,083 shares in the company, valued at $20,830. The trade was a 75.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 31,772 shares of company stock valued at $308,945 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,716,000. Vivo Capital LLC grew its holdings in Verastem by 71.9% during the third quarter. Vivo Capital LLC now owns 2,644,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,524 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,252,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its position in shares of Verastem by 5.9% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,058,776 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after purchasing an additional 58,776 shares during the period. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the third quarter worth $2,735,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.