Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.2857.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho set a $15.00 price target on Verastem in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Verastem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $13.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total transaction of $75,496.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,333 shares in the company, valued at $75,496.98. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 3,299 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.74, for a total value of $32,132.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 438,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,087.32. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 45,782 shares of company stock worth $453,327 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 9.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Verastem by 10.5% in the third quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 26,249 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Verastem by 182.9% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verastem by 3.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,183 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Verastem by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $7.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Verastem has a twelve month low of $3.45 and a twelve month high of $11.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.80. The stock has a market cap of $518.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.93 and a beta of 0.41.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.35) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $11.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.76 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies that target cancer stemness and resistance pathways. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, Verastem Oncology applies a precision-medicine approach to identify key signaling nodes responsible for tumor growth and relapse, with an emphasis on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s research platform integrates insights into complex signaling networks to advance novel compounds from early discovery through clinical proof of concept.

The company’s lead marketed product is COPIKTRA (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which received U.S.