Verastem’s (VSTM) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $15.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $19.00.

VSTM has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on Verastem in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $16.60.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM opened at $4.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 3.07. The firm has a market cap of $425.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.74. Verastem has a one year low of $4.01 and a one year high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.85 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 5,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total value of $36,079.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,788.04. The trade was a 4.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 10,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.16, for a total transaction of $73,898.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 400,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,864,744.64. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,330 shares of company stock worth $116,467 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verastem by 78.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 62,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 27,477 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 236.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 756,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,561,000 after purchasing an additional 531,873 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,259 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,978,000 after purchasing an additional 238,995 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 7,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 59,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 9,594 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem Oncology, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies that target cancer stemness and resistance pathways. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Verastem Oncology applies a precision-medicine approach to identify key signaling nodes responsible for tumor growth and relapse, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s research platform integrates insights into complex signaling networks to advance novel compounds from early discovery through clinical proof of concept.

The company’s lead marketed product is COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which received U.S.