Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Rating Increased to Hold at 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 research note released on Sunday.

VSTM has been the topic of a number of other reports. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Verastem to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Verastem to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Verastem from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $13.29.

Verastem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VSTM traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.05. 2,936,983 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,241,658. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $7.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 3.44 and a current ratio of 3.46. The firm has a market cap of $556.94 million, a PE ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 0.92. Verastem has a 12 month low of $2.54 and a 12 month 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 business had revenue of $2.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verastem will post -3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verastem

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,864,000. Octagon Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Verastem in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,372,000. BVF Inc. IL increased its holdings in shares of Verastem by 62.1% during the second quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 3,404,425 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $14,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,957 shares during the period. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC acquired a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,298,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Verastem during the fourth quarter valued at $3,742,000. 88.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.