Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.60.

VSTM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Verastem from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Verastem in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verastem from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th.

Verastem Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of VSTM opened at $4.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.35. Verastem has a twelve month low of $3.55 and a twelve month high of $11.24. The stock has a market cap of $360.27 million, a PE ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RTW Investments LP increased its position in shares of Verastem by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,576,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150,000 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its position in shares of Verastem by 270.7% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 3,925,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,866,350 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verastem by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,536,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verastem by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,720,000 after purchasing an additional 55,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Verastem by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,219,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,853,000 after buying an additional 990,655 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.