HC Wainwright Issues Positive Forecast for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Price

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by analysts at HC Wainwright from $10.00 to $14.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. HC Wainwright's target price would indicate a potential upside of 92.04% from the stock's current price.

VSTM has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Verastem from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Verastem in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.33.

Verastem Trading Up 1.7%

VSTM stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $7.29. 2,110,315 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,075,754. Verastem has a twelve month low of $2.10 and a twelve month high of $13.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 3.23. The business's fifty day moving average is $6.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 0.85.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.57). As a group, research analysts forecast that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position 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 buying an additional 10,352 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 20,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 6,012 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 546.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 47,094 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 88,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 9,503 shares during the period. 88.37% of the stock is currently 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.