Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock: Insider Dan Paterson Sells 1,299 Shares

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) CEO Dan Paterson sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.60, for a total value of $12,470.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 651,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,253,564.80. This trade represents a 0.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Thursday, October 1st, Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of Verastem stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00.

Verastem Price Performance

VSTM stock opened at $8.41 on Friday. Verastem, Inc. has a one year low of $3.43 and a one year high of $10.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $761.61 million, a PE ratio of -4.10 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.25.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $24.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.57 million. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Verastem, Inc. will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim set a $12.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Verastem from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Verastem from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem during the first quarter worth $10,600,000. Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,876,000. Exome Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 347,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 31.6% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Verastem

Here are the key news stories impacting Verastem this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its price target from $18 to $20 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling continued confidence in Verastem’s prospects. HC Wainwright rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its target from $19 to $18 but kept its Outperform rating. The reduced target is a modest caution, while the rating remains supportive. RBC rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Dan Paterson sold 1,299 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, a sale equal to about 0.2% of his holdings; he still owned more than 651,000 shares afterward. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Verastem posted an updated corporate presentation on its oncology programs, but the available report did not specify material new developments. Presentation update
• Negative Sentiment: Verastem reported a Q3 loss of $0.74 per share, wider than the roughly $0.47 consensus loss, while revenue of $24.0 million missed estimates of about $26.6 million. The loss narrowed from $1.35 per share a year earlier, but the quarterly misses were the clearest near-term pressure on the stock. Q3 results

About Verastem

Verastem, operating as Verastem Oncology, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancer. The company’s research is centered on tumors driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway, which can promote cancer-cell growth and resistance to treatment.

Verastem’s leading product candidates include avutometinib, an oral RAF/MEK clamp designed to inhibit signaling within the RAS/MAPK pathway, and defactinib, an oral focal adhesion kinase inhibitor.