Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Now Covered by BTIG Research

BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $19.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

VSTM has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, March 5th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.83.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of Verastem stock opened at $5.84 on Thursday. 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 $390.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.38 and its 200-day moving average is $8.11. Verastem has a one year low of $4.01 and a one year high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $17.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.85 million. Equities analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other news, 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 owned 400,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,864,744.64. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 5,039 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $749,788.04. The trade was a 4.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 17,678 shares of company stock worth $128,685 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 2,995.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 351,569 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 340,212 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at about $106,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verastem by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 590,184 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,211,000 after purchasing an additional 192,429 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth about $550,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in Verastem during the second quarter worth about $8,864,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

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.