Wall Street Zen Downgrades Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) to Sell

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho set a $13.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price target on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM opened at $6.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $595.88 million, a PE ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.16 and its 200-day moving average is $5.38. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $3.43 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. The business had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.88 million. Equities analysts forecast that Verastem will post -1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 591,242 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,391.56. This represents a 3.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,262 shares of company stock worth $111,897. Corporate insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. 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 purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Verastem by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,929 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Verastem by 182.9% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Verastem by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 20,476 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 4,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.