Verastem's (VSTM) Sell (D-) Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Verastem's stock received a "sell (D-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating persistent concerns about its performance in the market.
• Despite the sell rating, other analysts have been more optimistic, with firms like Royal Bank of Canada and BTIG Research issuing higher price targets and "buy" ratings.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings reported a loss of ($0.39) EPS, surpassing expectations but generating significantly lower revenue than anticipated.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating restated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. Wall Street Zen raised Verastem from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Zacks Research raised Verastem to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. B. Riley raised Verastem to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.29.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSTM traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,955,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,857,683. The stock has a market capitalization of $550.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $8.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.88. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $2.54 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 3.44 and a current ratio of 3.46.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position 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 acquiring 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 $90,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at $106,000. Institutional investors 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.

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