Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Buy" by the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.38.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VSTM shares. 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Verastem from an "outperform" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday.

Verastem Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of VSTM stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.15. The stock had a trading volume of 5,151,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,437. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $6.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.98. Verastem has a 52-week low of $2.10 and a 52-week high of $9.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.04 million, a PE 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 (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.24). Equities analysts expect that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verastem news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $90,592.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,267.15. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total transaction of $91,355.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 443,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,276,894.07. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,796 shares of company stock valued at $693,033. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in Verastem in the fourth quarter worth approximately $387,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verastem by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,593 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 9,254 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew 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 valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 6,012 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Verastem by 38.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.