Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) CEO Sells $352,968.00 in Stock

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $352,968.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 652,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,221,696. The trade was a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, August 3rd, Dan Paterson sold 1,302 shares of Verastem stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.81, for a total value of $7,564.62.

Verastem Stock Performance

NASDAQ VSTM opened at $7.70 on Monday. Verastem, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.43 and a 1-year high of $10.82. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.21 and a 200-day moving average of $5.76. The firm has a market cap of $697.31 million, a PE ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSTM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, September 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verastem presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.83.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 110,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 14,683 shares during the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Verastem in the fourth quarter worth $117,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Verastem by 31.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 161,707 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 39,018 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the first quarter worth $210,000. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the first quarter valued at $377,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem Oncology (NASDAQ:VSTM) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancers driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway. The company’s research is aimed at addressing cancers with limited treatment options, including ovarian cancer and other solid tumors.

Verastem’s lead product, avutometinib, is a treatment targeting the RAF/MEK signaling pathway and is marketed in the United States under the brand name Avmapki for certain patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer.