Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Upgraded to "Moderate Buy" at Royal Bank Of Canada

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $12.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock, down from their previous price objective of $16.00. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price points to a potential upside of 189.16% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on VSTM. Wall Street Zen cut Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.38.

Verastem Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of VSTM traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.15. The stock had a trading volume of 5,151,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,437. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.98. The firm has a market cap of $228.04 million, a P/E ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.10 and a fifty-two week high of $9.10.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted 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). As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verastem news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $90,592.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $927,267.15. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total value of $91,355.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 443,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,276,894.07. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,796 shares of company stock valued at $693,033 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at about $387,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,593 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 9,254 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 20,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 6,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Verastem by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 37,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 10,352 shares during the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.