BTIG Research Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Key Points

• BTIG Research reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on Verastem and maintained an $18 price target, implying approximately 136% upside from the stock’s $7.62 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Verastem has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.83, despite some target-price reductions.
• Verastem beat quarterly expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.35 per share versus the anticipated $0.43 loss and revenue of $40.08 million versus the $22.88 million consensus estimate.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $18.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. BTIG Research's price objective suggests a potential upside of 136.22% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verastem from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Guggenheim set a $12.00 target price on shares of Verastem and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Verastem from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $13.00 price target on shares of Verastem and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verastem presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM opened at $7.62 on Friday. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $3.43 and a fifty-two week high of $10.82. The stock has a market cap of $690.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.86 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $6.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.56.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.88 million. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 20,871 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.18, for a total value of $87,240.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 591,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,391.56. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 26,262 shares of company stock worth $111,897 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 182.9% in the 3rd 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. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in Verastem during the second quarter worth about $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Verastem by 9.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Verastem by 110.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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