Verastem Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 2,156 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 275% compared to the typical daily volume of 575 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $477,044.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 461,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $90,592.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 114,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,267.15. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,168 shares of company stock worth $577,292. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Verastem by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 49,959 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 12,330 shares in the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Verastem in the first quarter valued at $10,372,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Verastem by 236.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 756,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,561,000 after buying an additional 531,873 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Verastem in the first quarter valued at $300,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verastem by 78.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 62,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 27,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on VSTM shares. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.63.

Verastem Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ VSTM traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $5.90. 2,631,739 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,403,506. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The firm has a market cap of $324.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.90. Verastem has a 52-week low of $2.10 and a 52-week high of $9.10.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.24). Equities research analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

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.