Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price Target Raised at Mizuho

Key Points

• Mizuho raised Verastem’s price target to $14 from $13 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 51.68% potential upside from the reported $9.23 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 10 analysts rate the stock Buy, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $16.67.
• Verastem reported quarterly revenue of $40.08 million and an adjusted loss of $0.35 per share, beating analysts’ estimates; institutional investors own 88.37% of the company, while insiders sold shares during the quarter.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by Mizuho from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Mizuho's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 51.68% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Monday, September 28th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of Verastem in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim set a $12.00 target price on Verastem and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners restated a "buy" rating on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Verastem Price Performance

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $9.23 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.61 and a 200-day moving average of $5.94. The company has a market capitalization of $835.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 0.39. Verastem has a 52 week low of $3.43 and a 52 week high of $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.25.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Verastem had a negative net margin of 231.59% and a negative return on equity of 467.49%. The business had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.88 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $352,968.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares in the company, valued at $5,221,696. The trade was a 6.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 48,044 shares of company stock valued at $381,484 in the last quarter. 1.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 1st quarter valued at $10,600,000. Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verastem in the second quarter worth $6,876,000. Exome Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 58.5% during the first quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 636,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 234,957 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 31.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 416,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 100,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 157.2% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 347,872 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

About Verastem

Verastem Oncology NASDAQ: VSTM is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancers driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway. The company's research is aimed at addressing cancers with limited treatment options, including ovarian cancer and other solid tumors.

Verastem's lead product, avutometinib, is a treatment targeting the RAF/MEK signaling pathway and is marketed in the United States under the brand name Avmapki for certain patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer.

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