Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on VSTM. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Verastem from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Verastem from an "outperform" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verastem from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Mizuho reduced 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verastem presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.38.

Verastem Stock Down 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $334.10 million, a P/E ratio of -1.90 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $5.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.01.

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

Insider Transactions at Verastem

In other news, CFO Daniel Calkins sold 11,143 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 114,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan Paterson sold 58,677 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 461,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,913.66. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 93,796 shares of company stock worth $693,033. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Verastem by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Verastem by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verastem by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 4,183 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Verastem by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Verastem by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 5,737 shares during the period. 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.