Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 18,110,000 shares, agrowthof48,978.6% from the June 30th total of 36,900 shares. Currently,37.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.0 days. Currently,37.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Verastem Stock Performance

VSTM stock opened at $6.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $334.10 million, a P/E ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.02. Verastem has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $9.10.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.24). Sell-side analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VSTM. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Verastem from an “outperform” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.38.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $90,592.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,055 shares in the company, valued at $927,267.15. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $477,044.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 461,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,796 shares of company stock valued at $693,033 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,400,000. Octagon Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Verastem in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,372,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,103,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,742,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verastem by 236.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 756,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,561,000 after acquiring an additional 531,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

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.