Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives $14.29 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.2857.

VSTM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Verastem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In related news, Director Michael Kauffman sold 8,550 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $85,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,660. This trade represents a 49.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 5,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total value of $36,079.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $749,788.04. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,807 shares of company stock valued at $487,688. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,346,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 3,333.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 390,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 378,958 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Verastem in the third quarter valued at $2,716,000. Vivo Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 71.9% in 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 period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,252,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Stock Up 1.2%

VSTM stock opened at $6.68 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.09 million, a P/E ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 0.44. Verastem has a one year low of $4.01 and a one year high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $11.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.76 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

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.