Insider Selling: Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) CEO Sells 17,808 Shares of Stock

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total transaction of $91,355.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 443,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,276,894.07. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Dan Paterson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 16th, Dan Paterson sold 335 shares of Verastem stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.65, for a total value of $1,892.75.
• On Tuesday, May 20th, Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of Verastem stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01.
• On Monday, May 5th, Dan Paterson sold 820 shares of Verastem stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.30, for a total transaction of $5,986.00.

Verastem Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:VSTM opened at $4.15 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $9.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $6.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.04 million, a P/E ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 0.85.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Equities research analysts expect that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VSTM shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Verastem from an "outperform" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.38.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter worth about $20,400,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verastem by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 3,752,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $19,401,000 after buying an additional 19,250 shares during the period. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,778,000. BVF Inc. IL increased its position in shares of Verastem by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,100,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,859,000 after acquiring an additional 415,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Octagon Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in Verastem in the 1st quarter worth $10,372,000. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

About Verastem

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.