Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on VSTM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley upgraded Verastem to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $13.00 target price on Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.14.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM opened at $7.86 on Monday. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.11 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $9.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.08. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $483.70 million, a P/E ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 0.89.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In related news, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total transaction of $75,496.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,496.98. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 11,005 shares of company stock valued at $96,552 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Verastem by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $90,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth $106,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.