Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Trading Up 6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) shot up 6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $6.25 and last traded at $6.2450. Approximately 890,973 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 2,263,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.40.

Verastem Trading Down 2.1%

The company has a market cap of $531.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.24 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 3.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total value of $87,240.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 591,242 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,391.56. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 110.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies that target cancer stemness and resistance pathways. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Verastem Oncology applies a precision-medicine approach to identify key signaling nodes responsible for tumor growth and relapse, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s research platform integrates insights into complex signaling networks to advance novel compounds from early discovery through clinical proof of concept.

The company’s lead marketed product is COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which received U.S.