Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Research Coverage Started at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on VSTM. Mizuho set a $13.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.83.

Verastem Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $7.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $673.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.80 and a beta of 0.32. Verastem has a one year low of $3.43 and a one year high of $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.63.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verastem will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was 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 directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 valued at $111,897. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter valued at $117,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 1st quarter worth about $377,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 1st quarter valued at about $394,000. Finally, Knott David M Jr acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 1st quarter valued at about $551,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancers driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway. The company’s research is aimed at addressing cancers with limited treatment options, including ovarian cancer and other solid tumors.

Verastem’s principal products include avutometinib, a RAF/MEK pathway inhibitor, and defactinib, a focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor. The company has studied these therapies both individually and in combination, with the goal of improving cancer-cell response and overcoming treatment resistance.