Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Verastem's stock reached a new 52-week high trading at $9.55, closing last at $9.22 with a significant volume of 1.8 million shares exchanged.
• Several analysts have upgraded Verastem, with HC Wainwright raising the target price from $10.00 to $14.00 and a consensus rating of "Buy" reflected across multiple reports.
• The company reported earnings of ($0.39) EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates but generating lower revenue than projected at only $2.14 million.

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.55 and last traded at $9.22, with a volume of 1814380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VSTM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Verastem from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Verastem to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verastem from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Verastem to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.29.

Verastem Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $662.84 million, a PE ratio of -3.28 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 3.44.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Verastem, Inc. will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total transaction of $91,355.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 443,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,276,894.07. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,488 shares of company stock valued at $127,149. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verastem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.