Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in market sentiment towards the stock.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Buy" for Verastem, with a target price of $13.29, indicating potential for future growth.
• Verastem reported earnings of ($0.39) per share for the previous quarter, surpassing estimates, but reported revenue was below expectations at $2.14 million.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday.

VSTM has been the topic of several other reports. B. Riley raised Verastem to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Zacks Research raised Verastem to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verastem from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.29.

Verastem Price Performance

NASDAQ VSTM traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 949,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,875,056. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $7.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.74. The company has a quick ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. Verastem has a 1 year low of $2.54 and a 1 year high of $11.24. The company has a market capitalization of $561.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.79 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Verastem by 9.8% in 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. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verastem in the 2nd quarter valued at $90,000. 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.