Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Verastem's share price recently surpassed its 200-day moving average of $6.00, reaching a high of $6.78 before closing at $6.23 with a trading volume of 3,781,198 shares.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Verastem, with HC Wainwright raising its price target to $14.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to a "sell" rating, resulting in a consensus price target of $13.38.
• In insider activity, CEO Dan Paterson sold 17,808 shares and CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares, indicating potential shifts in management confidence as insiders sold a total of $693,033 worth of stock over the last three months.

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $6.00 and traded as high as $6.78. Verastem shares last traded at $6.23, with a volume of 3,781,198 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VSTM has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Verastem from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Verastem from an "outperform" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.38.

Verastem Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $334.10 million, a PE ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50-day moving average price is $5.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.02.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verastem news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $90,592.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,267.15. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total transaction of $477,044.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 461,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 93,796 shares of company stock worth $693,033. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verastem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VSTM. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth about $20,400,000. Octagon Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Verastem during the first quarter worth about $10,372,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth about $4,103,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Verastem during the fourth quarter worth about $3,742,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verastem by 236.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 756,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,561,000 after buying an additional 531,873 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.37% of the company's stock.

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.