B. Riley Has Strong Forecast for Verastem FY2029 Earnings

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) - Equities researchers at B. Riley increased their FY2029 earnings estimates for Verastem in a note issued to investors on Monday, April 28th. B. Riley analyst K. Patel now anticipates that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of $1.75 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.67. B. Riley has a "Buy" rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Verastem's current full-year earnings is ($3.02) per share.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57).

VSTM has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.89.

Verastem Stock Performance

Verastem stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.91. 668,086 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,035,956. Verastem has a 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $13.52. The stock has a market cap of $355.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $6.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a current ratio of 3.23.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth $20,400,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verastem by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 3,752,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $19,401,000 after acquiring an additional 19,250 shares during the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth about $13,778,000. BVF Inc. IL grew its position in shares of Verastem by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,100,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,859,000 after purchasing an additional 415,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 948,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,906,000 after purchasing an additional 58,191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Verastem Company Profile

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.