Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $17.50 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 337.50% from the stock’s current price.

VSTM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.69.

Verastem Stock Down 0.5 %

VSTM opened at $4.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.40, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $101.32 million, a P/E ratio of -0.91 and a beta of 0.58. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.86 and a 52 week high of $15.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.15.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by ($0.10). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sectoral Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the third quarter valued at $1,653,000. Citigroup Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the third quarter valued at $245,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 116.7% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,300,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,569,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 27.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 22,758 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 4,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 114,375.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 9,150 shares during the last quarter. 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.