Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Has Average Price Target of $16.50

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.67.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of Verastem in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, 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 value of $352,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,221,696. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,044 shares of company stock valued at $381,484. Insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Verastem in the second quarter valued at about $706,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Verastem by 157.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,600,000. Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,876,000. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verastem by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 234,957 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $9.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $845.83 million, a P/E ratio of -3.51 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. Verastem has a one year low of $3.43 and a one year high of $10.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.01.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $40.08 million for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verastem will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.