Analysts Set Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Target Price at $13.38

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.63.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VSTM shares. B. Riley increased their target price on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Verastem Stock Down 2.3 %

VSTM opened at $6.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.75. Verastem has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $14.22. The stock has a market cap of $270.62 million, a PE ratio of -1.91 and a beta of 0.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by $0.11. As a group, research analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,324.44. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 10,321 shares of company stock worth $52,217 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Walleye Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 493.7% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 216,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 179,725 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verastem by 67.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 890,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 359,060 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,192,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 3rd quarter valued at $112,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Verastem by 546.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 47,094 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Company Profile

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.