Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $13.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $8.20 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.19 and its 200-day moving average is $5.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $742.59 million, a PE ratio of -3.08 and a beta of 0.32. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.43 and a 52 week high of $11.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,391.56. This represents a 3.41% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 sold 26,262 shares of company stock valued at $111,897 in the last three months. 1.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Verastem by 182.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Verastem by 110.9% in the 3rd 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. bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Company Profile

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.