Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) had its target price increased by Guggenheim from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VSTM. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. B. Riley raised their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.88.

Verastem Stock Down 2.6 %

VSTM opened at $6.40 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $284.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.01 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $6.10 and its 200 day moving average is $4.72. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $13.52.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.57). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,324.44. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 9,960 shares of company stock valued at $53,498 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Verastem by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares during the period. Aries Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Verastem by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 5,737 shares during the period. 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.