Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives $13.83 Average Target Price from Analysts

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.8333.

Several brokerages have commented on VSTM. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho set a $13.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Verastem in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th.

Verastem Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $8.18 on Monday. 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 has a 12 month low of $3.43 and a 12 month high of $10.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $740.78 million, a PE ratio of -3.08 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $6.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.67.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. The firm had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verastem in the second quarter valued at about $6,876,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the second quarter worth about $706,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verastem by 157.2% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 347,872 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 715.1% in the first quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 123,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 108,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 31.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 416,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after buying an additional 100,123 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.