Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Shares Up 4.3% – What’s Next?

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) traded up 4.3% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $8.20 and last traded at $8.0850. Approximately 314,213 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,231,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VSTM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $14.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price objective on Verastem and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verastem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.83.

Verastem Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.79. The company has a market cap of $730.84 million, a PE ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.88 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 48,044 shares of company stock valued at $381,484 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,298,000 after buying an additional 1,440,000 shares in the last quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC raised its position in Verastem by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 3,135,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,203,000 after purchasing an additional 520,000 shares during the period. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 1st quarter worth about $10,600,000. Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,876,000. Finally, NEXTBio Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,093,000. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

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.