Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTMGet Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $12.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $16.00. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 188.46% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verastem from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.38.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Verastem

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $4.16 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.98. Verastem has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $9.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.59 million, a PE ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.50, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTMGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.24). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $90,592.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,055 shares in the company, valued at $927,267.15. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 461,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,796 shares of company stock worth $693,033 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company’s stock.

Verastem Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Verastem, Inc, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its product candidates are Avutometinib, an orally available small molecule RAF/MEK clamp that inhibits the ras sarcoma RAF/MEK, ERK mitogen activated pathway kinase pathway which is involved in cell proliferation, migration, transformation, and survival of tumor cells; and Defactinib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and proline-rich tyrosine kinase for various solid tumors.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)

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