Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Short Interest Update

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 806,400 shares, an increase of 27.1% from the March 31st total of 634,500 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 144,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Verastem Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of VSTM opened at $9.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.62. Verastem has a 12 month low of $4.32 and a 12 month high of $15.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a current ratio of 5.45.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.20). On average, research analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSTM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, March 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verastem presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.79.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 114,375.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 9,150 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the first quarter worth about $131,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 27.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 22,758 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 4,939 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the third quarter worth about $245,000. Finally, Sectoral Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the third quarter worth about $1,653,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

Verastem, Inc, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its product candidates are Avutometinib, an orally available small molecule RAF/MEK clamp that inhibits the ras sarcoma RAF/MEK, ERK mitogen activated pathway kinase pathway which is involved in cell proliferation, migration, transformation, and survival of tumor cells; and Defactinib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and proline-rich tyrosine kinase for various solid tumors.