Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) CFO Daniel Calkins Sells 2,566 Shares of Stock

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) CFO Daniel Calkins sold 2,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $20,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 123,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $990,248. This represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Daniel Calkins also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 21st, Daniel Calkins sold 55 shares of Verastem stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.70, for a total transaction of $423.50.

Verastem Price Performance

VSTM stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $7.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,070,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,242,226. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Verastem, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.43 and a 12 month high of $10.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $697.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on VSTM shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Mizuho set a $13.00 target price on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price target on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verastem by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at about $706,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verastem in the first quarter worth about $10,600,000. Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,876,000. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 234,957 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verastem Company Profile

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.