Dan Paterson Sells 8,568 Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,324.44. The trade was a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Dan Paterson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, December 19th, Dan Paterson sold 183 shares of Verastem stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.37, for a total value of $799.71.
• On Monday, December 16th, Dan Paterson sold 244 shares of Verastem stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.54, for a total value of $1,107.76.
• On Tuesday, November 5th, Dan Paterson sold 812 shares of Verastem stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.84, for a total value of $3,118.08.

Verastem Trading Down 5.6 %

Verastem stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $5.04. 868,318 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,517,652. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.32 million, a PE ratio of -1.58 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.50. Verastem, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $14.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $0.11. Research analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. FMR LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the third quarter valued at $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 55.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 6,016 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verastem by 104.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 10,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Verastem in a research report on Monday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research increased their price target on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.38.

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.