Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of 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 company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.0 days.

Insider Activity at Verastem

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Verastem by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 55.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 6,016 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Verastem in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.63.

Verastem Price Performance

VSTM traded down $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.05. The stock had a trading volume of 692,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,411. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.89 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Verastem has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $9.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.90.

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