Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Sell (D-) Rating for Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a Sell (D-) rating for Verastem (NASDAQ: VSTM), indicating a negative outlook on the company's stock.
• Despite Weiss's negative rating, several other firms have issued positive insights, with HC Wainwright and BTIG both recommending a Buy and setting price targets of $14.00 and $20.00, respectively.
• Verastem reported earnings of ($0.39) per share, which beat analysts' estimates but fell short of revenue expectations, raising concerns about the company's financial performance and future outlook.

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reissued by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on VSTM. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Verastem in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Verastem in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Mizuho set a $14.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verastem from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Verastem in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verastem currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $14.14.

Verastem Stock Performance

VSTM traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $7.95. 1,628,567 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,063,437. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.10. Verastem has a fifty-two week low of $3.17 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 3.44.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul A. Bunn sold 8,333 shares of Verastem stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $75,496.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,496.98. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,005 shares of company stock valued at $96,552. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSTM. BVF Inc. IL grew its position in Verastem by 62.1% in the second quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 3,404,425 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $14,128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,957 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verastem by 28.5% in the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,954,735 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,262,000 after acquiring an additional 656,194 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter worth approximately $8,864,000. Octagon Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in Verastem in the first quarter worth approximately $10,372,000. Finally, Foresite Capital Management VI LLC bought a new stake in Verastem in the second quarter worth approximately $5,298,000. 88.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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