Verastem’s (VSTM) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by BTIG Research in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 206.95% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on VSTM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Mizuho set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verastem currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Verastem stock opened at $6.19 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.13. The company has a market cap of $413.37 million, a P/E ratio of -1.93 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 3.07 and a current ratio of 3.09. Verastem has a one year low of $4.01 and a one year high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.85 million. As a group, analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 10,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total value of $73,898.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 400,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,864,744.64. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $36,079.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,788.04. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,678 shares of company stock valued at $128,685. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $117,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in Verastem by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 131,121 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 82,210 shares during the last quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,651,000. VARCOV Co. bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.