Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Now Covered by Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has reaffirmed an overweight rating for Verastem (NASDAQ: VSTM), amidst a range of ratings from other analysts, including a recent upgrade from Zacks Research to a "hold" rating.
• Verastem's stock is currently priced at $9.68, with a 12-month high of $11.24 and a low of $2.54, reflecting a market capitalization of approximately $595.65 million.
• Insider activities show that Director Paul A. Bunn recently sold 8,333 shares, reducing his holdings by 50%, while institutional investors own a significant 88.37% of the company's stock.

Investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on VSTM. B. Riley upgraded shares of Verastem to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Verastem in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Verastem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verastem from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verastem presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.29.

Verastem Stock Performance

VSTM stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.75. The stock had a trading volume of 346,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,856,675. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 3.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $599.77 million, a PE ratio of -2.96 and a beta of 0.89. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.54 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) 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. Analysts predict that Verastem will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verastem news, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $75,496.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,496.98. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,005 shares of company stock valued at $96,552. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VSTM. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Verastem by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $106,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.