Wall Street Zen Downgrades Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) to Sell

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on VSTM. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verastem from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Verastem in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.60.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $4.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.13. Verastem has a twelve month low of $3.55 and a twelve month high of $11.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $362.02 million, a PE ratio of -1.53 and a beta of 0.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised 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 valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

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.