Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Short Interest Up 42.5% in May

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,280,000 shares, an increase of 42.5% from the April 30th total of 9,320,000 shares. Currently, 27.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on 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 Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verastem has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.63.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,632,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,102. The stock has a market cap of $324.20 million, a P/E ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average price is $6.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Verastem has a 52-week low of $2.10 and a 52-week high of $9.10.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.24). As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of Verastem 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 directly owns 114,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $927,267.15. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 that occurred on 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 now directly owns 461,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,168 shares of company stock valued at $577,292. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Verastem by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Verastem by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 6,016 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Voya Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

Verastem Company Profile

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.