Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho set a $13.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Verastem in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.83.

Verastem Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $7.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $717.24 million, a P/E ratio of -2.98 and a beta of 0.32. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $3.43 and a fifty-two week high of $10.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $7.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.72.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.88 million. Analysts expect that Verastem will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Verastem by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,298,000 after buying an additional 1,440,000 shares in the last quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 3,135,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,203,000 after buying an additional 520,000 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the first quarter valued at $10,600,000. NEXTBio Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $10,093,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth $6,876,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.