Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Verastem's stock has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a bearish outlook from analysts.
• Despite the downgrade, the stock received mixed reactions from other analysts, with Royal Bank Of Canada setting a price target of $13.00 and BTIG Research maintaining a "buy" rating at a price target of $20.00.
• In the latest quarterly earnings, Verastem reported a loss of ($0.39) per share, exceeding analysts' expected loss of (0.64) per share, but revenue fell short of estimates at $2.14 million versus an expectation of $6.01 million.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VSTM. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verastem from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday. B. Riley raised shares of Verastem to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Verastem to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verastem presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $13.29.

Verastem Stock Up 4.0%

VSTM stock opened at $9.72 on Friday. Verastem has a twelve month low of $2.54 and a twelve month high of $11.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company has a market capitalization of $598.17 million, a P/E ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total value of $91,355.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 443,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,276,894.07. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 24,488 shares of company stock valued at $127,149 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Verastem by 2,995.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 351,569 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,459,000 after buying an additional 340,212 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Verastem by 224.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 674,596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,800,000 after buying an additional 466,491 shares during the period. Exome Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,490,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the 2nd quarter worth about $435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.