Wall Street Zen Upgrades Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) to Hold

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

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VSTM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, September 11th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $13.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Verastem Stock Performance

Verastem stock opened at $7.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $703.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 0.32. Verastem has a 12 month low of $3.43 and a 12 month high of $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $7.06 and its 200-day moving average is $5.70.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.88 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Armistice Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Verastem by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440,000 shares in the last quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 3,135,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,203,000 after buying an additional 520,000 shares during the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the first quarter worth approximately $10,600,000. NEXTBio Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,093,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the second quarter worth $6,876,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

Verastem Oncology 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 principal products include avutometinib, a RAF/MEK pathway inhibitor, and defactinib, a focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor. The company has studied these therapies both individually and in combination, with the goal of improving cancer-cell response and overcoming treatment resistance.