Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Trading Down 8.6% – Should You Sell?

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) traded down 8.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $6.66 and last traded at $6.67. 1,206,082 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 2,239,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 target price on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho set a $13.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verastem has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.83.

Verastem Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.40. The company has a market cap of $604.94 million, a P/E ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 0.26. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%.The business had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 591,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,391.56. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,262 shares of company stock worth $111,897. 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 modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Verastem by 9.8% during the 2nd 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 increased its stake in Verastem by 110.9% during the 3rd 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 period. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verastem Company Profile

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.