Brokerages Set Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Target Price at $13.83

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.8333.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VSTM shares. Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $13.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total transaction of $87,240.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,391.56. This represents a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 26,262 shares of company stock valued at $111,897 over the last 90 days. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 182.9% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Verastem by 110.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter valued at $49,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Stock Up 5.4%

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $8.02 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $726.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.02 and a beta of 0.32. Verastem has a twelve month low of $3.43 and a twelve month high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.88 million. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. Analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

About Verastem

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.