Verastem’s (VSTM) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by HC Wainwright in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $18.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 116.74% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on VSTM. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of VSTM stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.31. 2,660,203 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,243,685. The firm has a market capitalization of $752.13 million, a P/E ratio of -3.12 and a beta of 0.39. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.79. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.43 and a 52 week high of $10.82.

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

Insider Activity at Verastem

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,221,696. The trade was a 6.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,044 shares of company stock valued at $381,484. 1.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,876,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $706,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verastem by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Verastem by 715.1% in the 1st quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 123,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 108,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Verastem by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 416,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after buying an additional 100,123 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verastem

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.