Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.38.

VSTM has been the subject of several research reports. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Verastem from an "outperform" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $90,592.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $927,267.15. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $477,044.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 461,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,796 shares of company stock valued at $693,033. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Verastem by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Verastem Price Performance

VSTM stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.14. 6,750,805 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,170,232. Verastem has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $9.10. The company has a market capitalization of $337.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.92 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.00.

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). On average, analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS 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.