Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Has Average Price Target of $16.83 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 11 of 13 covering firms rate Verastem a buy, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average 12-month price target of $16.83. BTIG raised its target to $24, while one analyst rates the shares a sell.
• Quarterly results fell short of expectations: Verastem reported a loss of $0.74 per share versus the consensus estimate of a $0.47 loss, and revenue of $24.01 million versus expectations of $26.57 million.
• CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares for about $353,000 under a pre-arranged trading plan; after the sale, he still owned 652,712 shares. Insiders sold roughly $386,000 of stock over the prior 90 days.

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.83.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VSTM shares. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of Verastem in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Verastem in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company.

Insider Activity at Verastem

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 44,121 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $352,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,221,696. This represents a 6.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 48,041 shares of company stock valued at $386,390 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem during the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Aries Wealth Management grew its holdings in Verastem by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 32,833 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 1st quarter worth approximately $377,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of VSTM opened at $8.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $787.87 million, a PE ratio of -4.24 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $8.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.26. 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 has a twelve month low of $3.43 and a twelve month high of $10.82.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $24.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.57 million. Verastem had a negative return on equity of 467.49% and a negative net margin of 231.59%. As a group, research analysts expect that Verastem will post -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Verastem

Verastem, operating as Verastem Oncology, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for cancer. The company's research is centered on tumors driven by abnormalities in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway, which can promote cancer-cell growth and resistance to treatment.

Verastem's leading product candidates include avutometinib, an oral RAF/MEK clamp designed to inhibit signaling within the RAS/MAPK pathway, and defactinib, an oral focal adhesion kinase inhibitor.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.