Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average of $9.80

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.80 and traded as high as $11.63. Verastem shares last traded at $11.40, with a volume of 82,740 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VSTM. StockNews.com lowered Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.79.

Verastem Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $288.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.78 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.80. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by ($0.20). Equities research analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 116.7% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,300,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,569,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares during the period. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,653,000. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Verastem during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $245,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verastem during the 1st quarter worth approximately $131,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Verastem by 114,375.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 9,150 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.